The Kings’ Mistresses

The Kings’ Mistresses: the Liberated Lives of Marie Mancini, Princess Colonna, and her Sister Hortense, Duchess Mazarin by Elizabeth C. Goldsmith.

The Kings’ Mistresses, by Elizabeth C Goldsmith, is a fascinating story of the lives of Marie Mancini and her sister Hortense during the time of the seventeenth century in Europe. As such , it gives a valuable insight into of the history and politics of the time in France, Italy, Spain and England.

The author refers to correspondence and letters to tell a compelling story of two sisters who decided to challenge the expected norms of society of the time.

And what a story it is!

The stars of both these sisters shone brightly.

Brought to the court of France by their uncle Cardinal Mazarin, from Italy, they lived a privileged life and were feted by the court, enjoying its many entertainments and activities.

Louis XIV wished to marry Marie Mancini. It is poignant that six days after his marriage to the Infanta of Spain, Marie- Therese, Louis XIV wished to leave his travelling party at La Rochelle and pay a solitary visit to Brouage where he had last seen Marie Mancini. Of course he would have known that Marie was not there and Cardinal Mazarin was alarmed when he heard of this detour of the young Louis XIV.

Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin had done everything to try and separate Marie Mancini and Louis XIV. Marie had been recalled to Paris by this time.

It is also poignant that Marie Mancini during all of her life retained a string of pearls which the king had given her a year before his marriage to Marie-Therese.

Charles II of England had wished to marry Hortense, who was a bright spark, vivacious and beautiful. Cardinal Mazarin did not wish for his niece to marry Charles II at the time as he was a king without a throne. Charles II had been displaced by Oliver Cromwell and it would be after many years of poverty and travelling in Europe before he would be restored to the throne of England in 1660. Cardinal Mazarin raised the issue of his marriage to Hortense at the time with Charles II but Charles II’s ministers advised him to forget Hortense and have a more ambitious marriage with Katherine of Braganza.

Cardinal Mazarin, being in ill health by 1661 was determined to arrange fortuitous marriages for his nieces as he had arranged marriages for Laure Mancini, a sister of Marie and Hortense, to Louis de Bourbon-Vendome, Duc de Mercoeur, and also the marriage of a cousin of Marie and Hortense, Anne-Marie Martinozzi, to Armand de Bourbon -Conde, Prince de Conti.

The story of Marie’s life in Rome is fascinating to read of the account of the arts, theatre, processions and general sociability of the times as she brought something new to Rome which was not previously acceptable by the standards of the day. She did seem to have more freedom than the Roman noblewoman of the time. Marie did a lot for the arts in Rome, building a theatre at the Colonna palazzo and also becoming involved with the carnival in Venice when she was married to Prince Colonna.

Marie was also the author of two books of astrology.

She was learned and cultured. Louis XIV had developed a love and passion for the Italian arts and poetry from spending many hours in the company of Marie and also from the influences of Cardinal Mazarin who had a fine art collection.

Hortense was married to Duc Mazarin in 1661.

The story culminates in the adventures of these two sisters who decided to live their lives differently.

It is a poignant and stark tale but also has great merit describing the fascinating encounters in London of Hortense and Saint-Evremond, who had been exiled many years previously by Cardinal Mazarin. They became great friends and Saint-Evremond, knowing that Hortense enjoyed romance novels would describe himself in his correspondence to her as the sad-faced knight and Hortense would often sign herself to him as his “Dulcinea to Don Quixote” from Don Quixote.

Hortense hosted a salon of visiting artists writers and travellers to London which people enjoyed for the lively and interesting conversations.

This book is well recommended.

It is enjoyable and gives many insights into the seventeenth century modes of conduct, law and outcomes. It gives the reader an understanding of the culture and attitudes of society of the time. The vibrant and engaging personalities of the sisters, their travels and adventures give a sense of wonder to the book set in a time not so distant and yet so different from today.

The Way We Were

The Way We Were by Elizabeth Noble

The Way We Were is a story told with panache and verve by the author. She tells the story as it is and what a roller coaster of emotional drama it is!

This story is set in England of London and rural England. Sometimes the story is told in retrospect of Susannah’s life growing up in a rural country town, her friends and a near neighbour, Rob, and his family.

It is an interesting story to read of a romance, career, friends and family. I enjoyed reading this novel which is very contemporary in every respect.

The story is poignant and humorous, especially the banter exchanged between Susannah and her best friend, Amelia, who had been a school friend in her earlier years.

I enjoyed reading of the earlier times when Susannah’s life seemed simpler as she was growing up in the countryside.

There are many wonderful memories and anecdotes, her memories of congregating with other members of the community outside the village church every week-end to watch the bride and bridal party leave the village church after their wedding and she would bicycle to the local shops to purchase her sherbet and sweets while the bridal party was in the church or of the wonderful celebrations on the village common on the occasion of Guy Fawkes Night which was a special treat for the children.

These occasions are told with authenticity and often the dialogue scripted would be the dialogue expected of the villagers spoken on these different occasions. Susannah’s own parents, her family and Rob’s parents are fascinating characters to read of with their idiosyncrasies and approach to life. It is a whimsical book to read with sentimentality shown at times in the dialogue and story. It is also sad. Susannah may have been the author of her own misfortunes. It is a story of Susannah’s life. It gives a glimpse of a not too distant past in England of the twentieth century.

Heaven is for real : a little boy’s astounding story of his trip to heaven and back

Heaven is for real  by Todd Burpo, with Lynn Vincent.

Regardless of whether you believe in the existence of heaven or if you have doubts, Heaven is for Real is an intriguing book – although there is controversy with and criticism of the book’s claims amongst Christians.

Colton Burpo was nearly four years old when  he suffered a ‘near-death’ experience. Over the following months and years Coulton came out with innocent descriptions of people and things he could not possibly have known about - such as exactly what his parents were doing while he was in surgery! He told his astonished parents that the hospital was where the angels sang to him…

When Colton’s sister caught a tummy bug, it surprised no one that Colton ran a temperature, vomited, and complained of stomach pain. Thinking that Colton was suffering from the same illness as his family, they did not immediately take Colton to the hospital, and the appendicitis from which he was suffering progressed to an advanced stage. A misdiagnosis from the doctors at the hospital further complicated matters, and with Colton’s life hanging in the balance his distraught parents rushed him from that hospital for a second opinion at another hospital. The second hospital immediately did an emergency appendectomy, but it was too late - Colton died on the operating table, and had to be resuscitated.

Even though Colton’s father, Todd Burpo, is a Christian pastor both of his parents were aware of how little Colton knew about heaven at such a young age. When Colton described to them meeting biblical characters (such as Jesus, Mary, and John the Baptist), and deceased family members – some of whom died before Colton was born and whom he had not known about, they were shocked and amazed. They tried to draw information on his experience from him while consciously avoiding asking leading questions.

The story is well written, and a good read, even if you do have reservations about believing in Colton’s experiences. It is a touching story of one families courage during a series of difficult events. If you have ever wondered about life after death, maybe it can answer some questions for you. Are the folk in heaven still the age at which they died? If you suffer an injury or loss of a body part, is that the way you are going to be in the after-life? Do people in heaven have wings? Colton reported ‘No one is old and nobody wears glasses’. While Colton said that he had met ‘Pop’ (his father’s grandfather’) in heaven, it puzzled his father that he did not recognise Pop from a photo he had which was  taken of his grandfather at age 61 years of age. Later Todd Burpo asked his mother for a photo of his grandfather from earlier in his life, and she sent one of him aged 29 with his wife and children. The photo had been packed away since two years before Colton’s birth. When Todd showed Colton the picture, without identifying any of the characters, Todd immediatly picked out Pop.

Questioned for years on what Jesus looked like, Colton would give a description, but always said that the traditional pictures of Jesus which were showed to him were ‘not right’ (Colton described Jesus as having brown hair, and hair on his face – he did not know the word for beard! And his eyes – Colton had said “Oh, Dad, his eyes are so pretty!”). One day Todd Colton came across a picture of Jesus painted by the 8 year old child prodigy Akiane Kramarik, who claimed that her art is inspired by her visions of heaven. Todd called Colton to come and look at the picture. For a long time Colton gazed at the painting, and finally said ‘That’s him, Dad’. The painting is a famous one called ‘Prince of Peace’, and can be viewed through Google http://www.google.com.au/search?site=&source=hp&q=prince+of+peace+painting&oq=prince+of+peace+painting&gs_l=hp.3..0l9.1234.6531.0.7468.24.18.0.4.4.0.422.2329.2-5j2j1.8.0…0.0…1c.1.12.hp.M6g2j-fFxkc.

Heaven is for real was on the New York Times best-seller list in 2010, and has been followed by a version for children,  Heaven is for Real For Kids. They are available in hard copy and also in the electronic version from the library.

Night Road

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Book Review by Jennifer Gates, Southport Branch Library

This is a novel with resonating themes of love and hope that will captivate the reader. While it is classified as an adult novel, I think it falls into the crossover category that will additionally suit a young adult readership.

Night Road is the story of three happy, beautiful teenagers and their closeness in friendship which is torn apart by one wrong decision. This decision and the long-term consequences shatter not only their lives but also their families.  Yet, it is also a story of hope in the rebuilding that follows and this is where the reader finds real meaning in this story.

Emotionally, readers can relate to weighty questions about parenthood, identity, love and forgiveness. While it is heartbreaking in parts, I found myself reading on through the characters’ pain and loss, always hoping for a resolution. This does come eventually but not in the manner expected. Kristin Hannah is therefore a great storyteller.

I borrowed this story as an audiobook in MP3 format. The reader does an excellent job of character voice, adding to the intensity of the plot and developing the characters as real people. It is also available in hard copy.

This is an unforgettable story.

The Women of the Cousins’ War, The Duchess, The Queen and The King’s Mother

The Women of the Cousins’ War by Philippa Gregory

Three stories by three different authors comprise this book which is quite fascinating to read for the medieval times of English history and the early reign of the Tudors.

The first story is of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, who was married to King Henry V’s brother, John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford and subsequently married Sir Richard Woodville, father of Elizabeth Woodville, a future queen of England.

I enjoyed reading of Jacquetta’s life as I had earlier read The White Queen by Philippa Gregory where Jacquetta plays a significant role in the story. There are the family legends of Melusine, a water nymph. Perhaps because of these unfounded legends Jacquetta at one time is suspected and arraigned for being a witch. She certainly was fortunate in that she was acquitted of all charges. Jacquetta is a witness at the marriage ceremony of Elizabeth and Edward IV. Jacquetta’s allegiances previously were for the Lancasters. In those precarious times Jacquetta and her husband often had to balance their position between the opposing forces of Lancasters and Yorks.

The next story is of Jacquetta’s daughter, Elizabeth Woodville, queen of edwardIV.   This story gives a fascinating insight into her life as queen.

The following story is of the life of Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, mother of a King Henry VII, grand-mother of Henry VIII.

This biography gives an insight into the times prior to the early Tudor kings of Henry VII and Henry VIII and of Margaret’s life, who was married at a young age to Edmund Tudor and gave birth to Henry VII at a young age as a widow. Margaret was ambitious and concerned mostly for her son, Henry, in exile in France, whom she did not see for many years. Margaret Tudor was the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty.

Her story is a noteworthy one seting up a Professorship of Divinity at Cambridge and being a founder of St John’s College, Cambridge and christ’s College, Cambridge.

Margaret was a Beaufort, descended from the line of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford, who subsequently became John of Gaunt’s third wife, the Duchess of Lancaster. During Henry IV’s time a clause was included in the succession bill that the Beauforts could not claim the throne. Margaret’s rise in politics and royalty is all the more spectacular for what she achieved from her early beginnings.

The stories give a good overview of the women and how they adapted to change and coped during troubled times in English history. The stories are written by three different authors - Philippa Gregory, David Baldwin, and Michael Jones, respectively.

The Baking Collection – a fabulous book!

The Baking Collection by The Australian Women’s Weekly [food director, Pamela Clark]

Post by Joy from Southport Branch Library. 

This book arrived in the library a short while ago and I fell in love with the dustcover. The dustcover is just exquisite, depicting a delightful vision of delicious cakes and slices as well as a gorgeous floral arrangement of pink flowers… and once I started turning the pages I was impressed with the baking information available.  Though I must confess I have only looked through and read some of the awesome recipes, it is quite a large book of over 350 pages full of detail and beautiful photographs.

The book content is in eight chapters, each of which covers a terrific range and variety. It starts off with biscuits and slices, then on to teacakes and cakes. There is a section on pastries, pies, breads and tempting tiny baking. The final chapter covers Birthdays and Christmas, for that special occasion where you can try out some of these delicious recipes.

I found this book to be beautifully presented and with the lovely illustrated photographs capturing the finished items so well I felt I could just about smell all those aromas from my own kitchen. The instructions for the recipes seem easy to follow and offer some great tips along the way.

 I think if you enjoy baking this is the book for you, so make sure you take the time to check it out from one of our libraries. I am sure you will be impressed by the quality and presentation. I enjoyed it so much I bought a copy for myself after borrowing it from the library.

So Happy Baking, and enjoy your baking treats.

The Grass Harp

The Grass Harp by Truman Capote

A wonderful mesmorising story by Truman Capote which is so

beautiful, poignant and evocative. I loved reading this story by

Truman Capote.

 

This novella tells the story of an orphan boy who lives with his relatives

from a young age. He befriends a sister of the house and her servant. This story is set in earlier times in small town America. The story fascinates with its spirituality and beautiful descriptive writing. The script beckons - it is so wonderful, and I would recommend this story.

 

There are also more wonderful stories by the same author included with the story of The Grass Harp which I m now enjoying reading.    They certainly are different and I have finished reading Master Misery, which is a story of a girl who sells her dreams.

I look forward to reading more stories by this compelling author.

Reading Journal for April: A Month for Novellas

Novellas are rare in the modern world. Not quite as publishable as a novel, not quite as marketable as a short story, these little books don’t seem to see much light. The most recent modern ones I read were in Charles Stross’s The Atrocity Archive, where he glued two together, told you to mind the gap, and his publisher sort of pretended that counted as a novel.

This month, though, I happen to have read quite a few novellas.  I can’t call any of them particularly modern, the newest one is from 1989. Each has been engaging, however, and so I wonder if there’s something to this form - too long to be sustained by a single idea, too short for panoramic waffling - that suits me, particularly when I looking for a commuting audiobook that I can sample in brief pieces.

The novellas this month were:

Ollalla by Robert Louise Stevenson

I became aware of this novella via a Kickstarter from a university group to republish it and create an audiobook, which I thought odd because it’s still in print, is already available as part of an ebook, and there’s a Librivox edition. The group describing it bill it as a vampire novel that predates Dracula, but that’s an oversimplification of the story, or at least it chooses a single, superficial interpretation which is likely to be commercially appealing. It’s in the Gothic style, and is more about mood that plot, so the novella format fits it superbly. Stevenson takes his exercise in style as far as he can, and then truncates it before it starts to drag. Recommendable to those who like Gothic stories, aren’t bothered by character types which later become clichés, and won’t feel disappointed if the “vampiric” reveal is weak.

The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster-Bujold

This novella, from the Vorkosigan saga, sends Miles, the young protagonist, to a rural area of his planet, where ancient prejudices against the disabled still hold sway. A child with a cleft palate has been murdered, and the question that he needs to answer is not only who did it, but what to do with the criminal after they are apprehended. This extra step, having the detective confront the fact that his work generally ends in the death of the murderer, adds additional interest to what’s a relatively routine mystery. This novella is collected in Young Miles. Recommended, but perhaps suitable only for those following the series, and if you are considering that, start somewhere else.

The White People by Arthur Machen

The White People is one of those works which is in the DNA of many later books, particularly in the horror genre. If you are interested in the development of horror, you have probably heard of it, without ever stumbling upon it.  When I saw it in Librivox, and that it was so short (about three hours, if I recall) I thought it well worth grabbing, to see if the praise it gathered from early horror writers was deserved.

The story suffers from its frame narrative, which takes up about a third of the novella. Once that is dispensed with, the work is a very early version of found-manuscript horror, although it would not have been clear to contemporary readers if it was horror or fantasy until the last few pages (even had they these genre terms with which to safely pigeonhole it). I enjoyed it a great deal, but recommend it only for people who like the slow burn and verbosity of the early Mythos authors.

The Library Service has The White People and Other Weird Stories in print. This edition  contains The Angel of Mons, reviewed earlier for book coasters. There is also an excellent Librivox version.

Talking About Detective Fiction by P D James

This is not a novella, because it’s not fiction, but I’ll include it here because it’s slightly over four hours long, in audio.

This is a remarkable little book, about the development of the English detective story, and its descendant genres, like the police procedural. It’s a grandmistress of her craft laying out her basic tools, and describing the uses to which each one has been put by her predecessors. It’s a brilliant contrasting and examination of the works of Christie and Sayers.

This work is available in CD, e-audio and print.

Highly recommended to librarians attempting to develop their readers’ advisory skills in this subgenre. Also of interest to devotees seeking new authors, and to new writers wanting to grasp basic theory in this genre. 

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days by Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly manages to circumnavigate the globe in her targeted time with only a little piece of hand luggage, a custom-made dress, and the endless financial support of the World newspaper. They do cheat a little by putting on a special express train to get her across the United States. I thought this book was charming, and aside from the dull clang when Bly uses terms now considered racist, I found her quite open-minded for a Western traveller. She is thrilled by things like curry and catamarans, and can usually be depended on not to downplay things she sees because they are foreign.

At the same time, some of the things she cites as alien are just bizarre. For example she describes an Egyptian child held to its mother’s side, holding on like a monkey on a tree. Now, potential racism aside, surely that’s a hip carry?  How can she not ever have seen a woman (or man) perform a hip carry before? That’s the bit that’s interesting with Bly herself: some of the things she claims to have never seen before are just so ubiquitous that it’s unbelievable that she could state she has not seen them in her normal life.

There’s also the ambiguity of her “confirmed spinster” status. She takes a great deal of time to discuss the beauty of the women around her. She notes her temptation to return Mrs Verne’s French greeting, of pecks on her cheeks, with a proper American smooch. Is she subtly signalling an inclination, or is this again part of the alieness of historical people?

I thought the Librivox version of this was fantastic and congratulate the reader. It’s based on a free e-text at Open Library.

The Vor Game, Cetaganda and Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold

The first two are excellent continuations of the Vorkosigan Series, about a small, disabled man from a society that both has space battles and prefers its leaders to be physically adroit. In the first he tricks a company of mercenaries into solving a problem his Emperor is having, and in the second he visits the ancestral foes of his people, who are a sort of science-fiction version of the Qing court, so far as I can tell.  I listened to each through our Overdrive service, but we also have Vor Game in text, collected in Young Miles.

Ethan of Athos is set in the same milieu, and shares a few minor characters, but takes McMaster-Bujold’s theme of motherhood in a bizarre new direction. Her lead character is a geneticist from a planet populated solely by men, who use cloned ovarian tissue to reproduce. The ovarian tissue bought by the society’s founders is failing, so he is sent out into the hostile and woman-haunted universe to find more. 

Ethan is interesting in that he’s a sympathetically drawn character who, at the beginning at least, is a religious fanatic and a misogynist, which is a difficult bit of crafting that McMaster-Bujold pulls of seamlessly. The scenes is which he is reflexively bashed for being gay by some blue-collar workers, and where even the friendly characters seem to find his Planet of the Gays funny, seem a little bit dated. Science fiction needs to comment on the society of the author’s time to have bite, but this novel feels a little out of its time in this respect.

Best books ever?

Everyone loves a reading list, right?

So have you checked out the Dymocks booksellers 101 club’s 2013 list, which is the Best 101 Books of All Time as voted by Dymock’s Booklovers?

Go have a look – I’ll wait here.

I’m interested to know – how far into the list did you get before you said “What!?? What’s that doing in here?”
Did you make it past 3?
Past 10?
Were you laughing uncontrollably by the time you got to 15?

I’m not trying to come across as judgemental and intellectually elitist here, I don’t want to go on about “the Classics”, nor the dead white men that wrote them, so just smack me down if that’s how it sounds – but Best 101 Books of All Time?
ALL TIME?
EVER?
Really?
It could be the 101 Most Popular Books of 2013 list.
It could be the 101 Books We Read, Loved or Remembered Best in 2013.
But the day that I agree that The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton was one of the 101 best books ever written is the day I hang up my librarian’s hat for good.

And don’t even get me started on #22.

What are your thoughts? Mountains? Molehills? Storms? Teacups?
How many of these 101 books would you keep on a 101 best books of all time list?

The Pacific by Peter Watt reviewed by Jill Smith

Jack Kelly has two children, a son Lukas, adored as a friend and fellow combatant in their adopted country’s struggle for freedom. Papua New Guinea is the place Jack calls home and WWII sees him retired from active fighting, but, in a position to ensure volunteers like Lukas can be kept out of harm’s way. His daughter was estranged from him at an early age when his first wife left him.

Ilsa Stahl was raised in Germany by her mother and step father, until they moved to America. Her step father had been a high ranking Nazi who defected to the US before the war. Educated in America, Ilsa became a journalist, taking on correspondence work in dangerous war zones. She had fallen in love with a fellow American and did not expect to meet her paternal father again. Their one reunion was awkward.

While the war rages Lukas volunteer work in his small boat the ‘Riverside’, takes him into dangerous waters. He intends to ask his long time girlfriend to marry him when the battle with the Japanese is over. He and Jack could then return to their plantation home and live settled lives.

As with all Peters’ books, the characters carry you along with the battle. There is subterfuge behind enemy lines, desperation among prisoners of war and a battle that Jack once again goes into against the odds. The heartache is undeniable when Jack finds a member of his own family has made the ultimate sacrifice.

Peter Watt is a master story teller describing the scenery in PNG with the clarity of a man who lived and worked there. His background in the army and police-force create battle scenes that literally had me holding my breath. For anyone who has not yet shared in the wonderful exploits Peter’s books offer, this would be an excellent place to start.