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★★★★★★★★★★ (9/10)
This was fantastic, to put it simply and plainly. It seems that it's always the bits of hidden history that intrigue me the most. As an American, I know little enough about the British monarchy, other than the significant events (wars, controversial successions, the times before and after Elizabeth I, etc.), so it came as no surprise to me that I had no clue of the mistresses of King Charles II. Still, Bagwell's accounts of Nell Gwynn's life brought me near tears, summoned many hearty guffaws, and made me wish I could have been a spectator of court life during Gwynn's time.
Nell Gwynn's story should be one that fills a person with pity for the life she could have faced. She willingly went into prostitution at a young age to escape the nearly daily beatings by her mother, only to put herself in a world filled with abuse, uncertainty, and odd friendships. What I found amazing about her is that she never gave up. Even when Jack, the man who helped keep the girls at the brothel safe (I use that term loosely, given his own character), brutally rapes her for days, she knows that things will get better somehow, and that somehow was the theater. Luckily for Nell, the return of the monarchy brought the both the return of the theater, and the introduction of women onto the British stage. She moved into that life easily, and was a great actress; people loved her as much as she loved performing for them.
Regardless of her fame as an actress, Bagwell's description of her as a character makes Nell truly inspiring. She was a unique woman, in my opinion. Though she sold herself to rich men to make money, she usually cared for the ones that cared for her. There was usually a friendship before anything else. For example, when she agreed to become Dorset's mistress, she had already known him for a while, and was his friend; being his mistress came as a way to make money while the theaters were closed during the plague, and she enjoyed his company as much as he did hers. Her emotions ran deep through her entire life. She loved deeply and was a fierce friend to all who offered her friendship. I can't even express properly how I see her relationships with those around her. It's enough that I believe that if I had known her, I would have loved her as well, because she was the type of person that you couldn't help but like. She was kind, generous, friendly, and loyal, even when she didn't have to be.
Her relationship with Charles took up the bulk of the plot, and like any good work of historical fiction, there was a bit of history thrown in. Assassination plots, intrigues, betrayal, murder, duels, and the ever-changing alliances of the courtiers all play important parts in Nell's life once she becomes the king's kept woman. Events important to Charles's reign were included because they affected Nell. When there was a threat to his life, Nell was sure to be told of it, and would have been told by Charles how he felt about it. He confided in her his frustrations with Parliament, as well as with his family, and the controversy over who would succeed him since he and his queen were childless. (I didn't know that Charles's brother, James, became king after him. I had always assumed it was a son, since that usually what happens.) Nell was there during this time of turmoil, and her response to it wasn't what I expected. She behaved practically, and looked to the future, rather than the present or the past for answers and hopes.
She lived the life of a grand lady, but she never really thought of herself as one. She considered herself lucky, and unlike the king's other mistresses (of which there were many), Nell rarely asked for things; she was happy enough with the king's company, and whatever he thought fit to give her. Of course, I'm comparing her to the other women Bagwell puts in the novel: Barbara Palmer (who is the king's mistress when he returns to England from his exile in France), Louise de Keroualle (an impoverished, but beautiful and young, French noble, who came to England in search of a rich husband), Moll Davis (another actress), and Hortense Mancini (who Charles reportedly wanted to marry when he was younger, but she refused). These women (except Moll) were born into wealth, and expected extravagance from the king, as well as the ability to influence him; Nell expected none of this, and had no idea that she would come to love Charles as deeply as she did. It's amazing that knowing the right people can take you from a brothel, to the theater, to a king's mistress, in less than five years. I can't say that I'd have wanted to be her, but she did live a charmed life, considering her prospects when she was born.
I though this was a wonderfully written novel, and loved every page. As with other historical novels that I've read, I learned a bit of history, that only helped to enrich my understanding of what life would have been like for a woman such as Nell. I will definitely read this again, and hope to do that soon. Not only did I enjoy reading The Darling Strumpet, I started doing research on King Charles II, his mistresses, and the wars of the time. Maybe I should have become a historian...
★★★★★★★★★★ (10/10)
After months of anticipation, I finally got to read the first book of Willig's series on flowery spies working for the British government, and best of all, it was fantastic! I had high hopes after having read three other novels in the series (out of order, but that's fine), and my expectations were exceeded. I found this to be even more nerve-wracking, heart-stopping, and thrilling than the others (possibly because of the afore-mentioned anticipation).
Possibly one of the best things about reading this novel is that I finally understand more of the events that happened in the other three novels I read, both on the historical spy side, and in Eloise's life. Before reading Pink Carnation, I had no real questions about the events in the novels, but after reading this one, there are more links between characters than I had assumed there were. I like that all of the novels in this series are so intertwined, yet so completely different. It's a feeling similar to watching movies with the same main character, but I think the Pink Carnation novels are better, because the main character changes. You know who the new main character is, because they either were in a previous novel, or are related to someone in a previous novel, and the stories are so all-engrossing that I can't put them down, and I already want to read them again.
Once again, Eloise has my attention and sympathy. I knew already that she and Colin Selwick had gotten off to a rocky start, but the actual encounters in PC were a great deal more interesting than the ones I had imagined. Colin was not only opposed to Eloise poking about in the family archives, he was absolutely horrid to her, without the offhand decorum I'd expect from someone answering a polite request. His letter to Eloise declining her request to see the Selwick archives was both rude and highly amusing to read. Their meeting later, when Colin's aunt allows Eloise access to the papers, is interesting, too. They are both shocked to see each other, and the misunderstandings that follow made me feel both giggly and miffed. As a reader, I knew what was going on, but I also was offended for Eloise. It's one thing to not like someone for good reasons, but Colin seems to have no reason to dislike Eloise, and even less reason to be horrid to her. (Now, I know why Colin is rude, since I read the novel that explains his motives, but in PC, it seems completely unreasonable.) Eloise is simply not having a lot of luck with him. She needs the papers to put something profound in her dissertation, but the Selwicks decide that she can't use any information she finds. So, she'll know the truth, but be unable to talk about it. If that's not a researcher's nightmare, I don't know what it.
The 1803 side of the story is even more riveting. Just as Eloise and Colin have misunderstandings and unfounded dislike, so, too, do Lord Richard Selwick and Miss Amy Balcourt. Within the first two or three chapters, I already knew that they would end up together, based on the pattern of the other PC novels, but the misadventures that got them together were what kept my attention. Dual identities, false assumptions, arrogance, prejudices, and other fun tools keep Richard and Amy, if not at each other's throats, at least wary and untrusting. The humor starts when Richard realizes that he's in love with Amy, but she seemingly hates his guts, which isn't far from the truth. Willig's descriptions of their feelings towards each other, and the changes in those feelings, feel as though I'm in their minds, knowing their thoughts, as their being thought up. Amy and Richard are both complicated people, with complicated loyalties, aspirations, and beliefs, but in Pink Carnation, their differences (and later, their similarities) make me love them both.
I don't think I can say enough good things about The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. I was as enthralled by it, if not more so, as by the other Willig novels that I've read. I do believe that reading this novel has secured me as a permanent Lauren Willig fan, even though PC was a bit more of a romance novel than I thought it would be. Truthfully, I didn't care, because I really enjoy Willig's writing style, and the way she thinks. There were things I never saw coming, and it takes a great author to keep me guessing. I loved every page of this novel, and finishing it left me a bit wistful. I'm excited to read her other novels as soon as I can get my hands on them!
★★★★★★★★★★ (6/10)
I actually finished this novel almost a week ago, but have been putting off writing about it because I was trying to find something positive to talk about. I had seen this in bookstores for a few years, but never got around to purchasing it. The back cover description usually made me want to read it, but I nearly always found this novel at the end of my bookstore trip, after I already have an armful of books, and can't bring myself to add one more to the pile. I'm wondering now if it was my subconscious warning me that this book wouldn't be what I hoped it would be. There were definitely parts that made it worth reading, but I'm still not certain it was worth purchasing. What makes me more uncertain is that there are two more novels in this series, and I can't decide whether I should read them after my disappointment with A Great and Terrible Beauty.
To sum up the novel, Gemma Doyle is a 16-year-old girl from Britain who lives in India with her parents. After the murder of her mother, she is sent to a finishing school in England because her family is now incapable of taking care of her as she should be. While at this school, Gemma discovers that she has a secret power: she has visions of the future, and can traverse different realms of magic. The problem is that there are multiple parties that want her to either close her mind to these realms, or open them to the evil that has been trapped there, depending on which party you ask. During the novel, she has to deal with cruel classmates and mysterious Gypsies, being academically behind almost every other student, a headmistress who cares only for the reputation of the school, the emotional void left by the loss of her mother, and the fact that she has basically been abandoned by her family.
What makes it utterly silly is the bizarre friendship that forms between Gemma, Ann, Pippa, and Felicity. It is not very plausible that Felicity and Pippa (two very wealthy girls whose family expectations are very high) would easily form a bond with Gemma (a girl who has no idea what London Society is really like) and Ann (a girl who is destined to be a governess or some other form of hired help). It's a nice gesture on Gemma's part to force Ann's inclusion in their club, but I can't reconcile the idea of an arrogant, cruel girl like Felicity being nice to a poor orphan like Ann. I can believe that they all want a chance to rebel and just be young girls for a while, but given the strictness of the school, I wonder why it is so easy for them to sneak out in the middle of the night.
There are some amusing parts, so I did have some enjoyable moments. When Ann and Gemma show up in French class with hangovers, I couldn't stop laughing. Their teacher questioned Gemma about the smell of alcohol on her breath, and Gemma convinced her that she had just had too much marmalade. Gemma's dreams about Kartik are a bit funny, too. Bray seems to understand that girls' sexuality was very suppressed at that time in history, so Gemma's feelings for Kartik are almost completely beyond her scope of understanding. I was also amused at Gemma pushing Felicity into the lake to save her reputation (because Felicity has been secretly meeting with a Gypsy boy named Ithal, and their relations have been far from proper).
I'm not going to explain why, but I felt the most sympathy for Pippa. Her part in the story is both tragic and somewhat typical for a girl her age. Her part in the end of the novel is bittersweet, but I can imagine that it made her happy.
The other ridiculous part of this novel is the Order, the magic ability of certain women to change things in the world. Gemma's powers make her part of this order, but the entire thing seems to be not fleshed out enough. Basically, when Gemma (and later her friends, when she takes them) finds the "garden", they spend their time doing whatever they feel like, simply because it's the only place where they can make their own decisions. They can make it rain rose petals if they want, just by wanting it to happen. Felicity creates a huntress to teach her how to shoot a bow; Pippa creates a knight who swears his life to her; Ann makes herself pretty with a beautiful singing voice; and Gemma creates nothing because her mother is already there. When they take the magic back into the school (which they weren't supposed to do), they do very silly things with it. They change a Cupid statue into a scantily clad can-can dancer figurine, change their breakfasts, make it so that they speak perfect French, etc. They use it to amuse themselves, instead of doing something useful with it. They never find other members of the Order, which the novel led me to expect that they would, and the whole subject is treated as a lovely myth come true.
Gemma's issues with her mother are another matter entirely. Like all mother-daughter relationships, theirs was complicated. Gemma and her mother got along well, until Gemma decided it was time for her to finally go to London for a Season, but her mother and father both refused, without a reason. After that, Gemma's relationship with her mother was strained, and it was only after her mother's death that she realized how much her mother meant to her - a typical and not very interesting circumstance. Gemma spends a good deal of the rest of the novel trying to forgive herself because she thinks her mother's death was her fault, and her mother, in the "garden", tries to get Gemma to forgive her for keeping secrets. It's very much a "if I had only known, it would have been different" scenario, and I wasn't very happy with it.
So, I am moving on to my next book, and leaving A Great and Terrible Beauty where it belongs -- on the shelf with the other disappointments. I have to say that it's possible I didn't like it because I'm getting to old for that type of novel, but part of me thinks that it just wasn't appealing, like there wasn't enough character development or plot depth. Maybe it was just too shallow. I'll leave it for other readers to decide, since I already have my own opinion.
★★★★★★★★★★ (8/10)
That was a really quick read. Not that that's a bad thing, but I didn't expect to got through it so fast. I'm not quite sure where the title comes from either; I'm assuming that it means knights are extinct, and Sir Michael gave himself the title after deciding to become a knight errant. Anyway, The Last Knight was fun, filled with interesting situations, and a couple of men who couldn't be more opposite.
The Last Knight is partially fun because it's told from both main characters perspectives. Bell goes back and forth between who's telling the story; as the chapters alternate, so do the voices, starting with Fisk. Michael has become a knight errant because he wants some adventure in his life, instead of being forced to do what his family intends. Fisk is an ex-con bound to Michael as a squire until Michael decides to release him. From the beginning, it's easy to tell that their personalities will clash, and clash often. Michael is very honest, trusting, and naive about how the world works. Fisk has been hardened by city life, and his career as a con artist. Hearing them each describe their adventure in The Last Knight (thankfully without any overlapping or rehashing of events one of them has just said), does something both unique and helpful. It allows me to get to know these two men from their own views of themselves, and the way they see each other. It a classic problem: Fisk and Michael act a certain way in their narratives, but when they talk about each other, their personalities and actions feel completely different. Towards the end, these descriptions start to coincide, and I liked seeing that happen.
The funny part in the plot is that in Sir Michael's effort to do good in the world, he unwittingly rescues an alleged murderer, Lady Ceciel, from prison. In order to correct his error, he is charged with bringing her back to justice, with Fisk along for help. While they try to do this, they keep coming up against obstacles that just make their plight hilarious: they are attacked by a magic boar, kidnapped by beggars, press-ganged to be sailors on a merchant ship, escape in a tapestry box and a barrel, get beaten up, and find out that, though they have nothing in common, they've grown to be friends. Sometimes, the plot is a little bit ridiculous, but when I think about the novel as a whole, it all fits together to be a fantastic adventure.
The only part of the book I'm disappointed in is that i would have liked there to be more explanation about the significance of the two moons, the Savants, and how society works there. There were fragments, but nothing to give me a complete idea of what kind of world Michael and Fisk live in. The two moons were really confusing; I think I understand what the Creature moon is, but I still don't know why there are two, and how they interact. It's also strange that there's a quote about how since the people aren't looked after by a god, they need to look after each other, but then they talk about the Furred God. I'm not clear on why those two aren't contradictory. However, I think that the next book, Rogue's Home, will expand on these a bit more.
I very much liked The Last Knight. It hooked me immediately, and I was a little sorry to get to the end, but a good novel should leave me feeling that way. (Only really bad novels make me glad they're over.) I think Hilari Bell is quite a good author, and hope to read more of her books in the future.
★★★★★★★★★★ (9/10)
Did you know that there is a possibility that Shakespeare had two wives? I had no idea. I'd known about his marriage to Anne Hathaway, and that it wasn't a happy one, but the idea of another marriage took me by surprise. It seems that in the same wedding registry, William Shakespeare had a license to wed two women: Anne Whately and Anne Hathaway. His marriage to Hathaway happened only a day after his approved license to wed Whately. So, was Shakespeare married twice in two days, or did something else happen? That is what Mistress Shakespeare is about.
Mistress Shakespeare is Anne Whately's narrative of the events of her life, and her relationship with William Shakespeare. She provides a peek into her life with him, and his work in London on his way to becoming the most famous playwright in English history. Now this is all fictional, but it's interesting to note that given the registry, and the fact that Shakespeare spent most of his time in London (and Hathaway never moved there with him), it's very likely that Anne Whately could have been his "London wife."
I liked Mistress Shakespeare for a number of reasons. The first, and possibly most important considering what happened with Sons of Fortune, is the writing style. Harper combines a bit of Shakespeare's English with modern spelling, while still keeping the prose interesting and well written. The whole novel flowed easily, and I enjoyed reading it. I don't think there was a single sentence that I could fault, and it was GREAT that there was no skipping about in the plot; each scene followed the one that had come before, and they all made sense.
I also liked the depth of the character development in Anne Whately. Anne, in the novel, is a very strong woman. She is born to be different from her neighbors, because her mother was Italian, and her father, English. This immediately sets her apart, but her strength shows in her reaction to events early in her life. As a teenager, her dear friend Kat commits suicide, and Anne stands up for her in court, to see that Kat is buried in the churchyard, instead of at the crossroads. She is able to convince a court that Kat's death was an accident. I could see her determination, intelligence, and how deeply she cared in this scene. Another difficulty in Anne's life was the loss of her parents. She loses her mother when she is 3 or 4 years old, and her father dies when she is about 18. Unlike what many women of the age would do in her situation, Anne doesn't marry to ensure that she doesn't end up in poverty. Rather, she takes a partnership in her father's business and moves to London. As the business prospers, Anne becomes rather wealthy in her own right, and her money is really her own. It was almost a fiscal blessing that her marriage to Shakespeare wasn't officially recognized. Anne even tries to protect the reputation of Will's family, when she has no obligation to. She's as unique a woman as Queen Elizabeth, both of whose lives were slightly unfair.
Her relationship with Shakespeare was interesting as well. Technically, she and Will were formally married, and their priest was a witness, but they kept it secret. The day after, it was discovered that Anne Hathaway was pregnant by Will, and they were forced to marry to save Hathaway's reputation. Instead of ruining Shakespeare's character and family reputation, Anne doesn't expose his double marriage, but accepts it on behalf of their unborn daughter. Anne goes through various stages of loving and hating Shakespeare. She hates him for dallying with another woman, when his heart belonged to Anne alone, but she loves him for being willing to support their own marriage, if Hathaway hadn't become pregnant. She tries to forget him when he goes to London, but she can't stop promoting his dreams of becoming an actor and playwright. There were some occasions where Anne was determined to move on with her life, but somehow, she can't seem to forget about Shakespeare, and she starts the whole cycle of "I love him, and loathe him, but I still want to be with him" all over again".
As the two of them get older, Will spends more time in London, having made a deal with his wife that they can have separate lives, as long as Will sends her money. After this deal, Will can be with Anne as much as he wants, and they almost get to live the life they would have had. They still have to be careful not to tarnish Will's vulnerable reputation; no one can know that he has a legal wife other than Hathaway. Yet, as the years go by, their love grows, and they become closer than ever. The only part of the novel that bothered me was Will's extreme jealousy. He will hear that Anne has spoken to a man, and he believes that she's slept with him, no matter how Anne tries to convince him otherwise. In fact, her devotion to Will, in that she never marries and never has an affair, are hard to believe. She even stands by him when her own life could be in danger. I can't imagine that happening in today's world. Theirs is a relationship that is hard to fathom, but lovely to think about.
All in all, Mistress Shakespeare was a wonderful novel. I learned something new about Shakespeare's life (even if it can't be proved for certain), and I got to read a charming love story, peppered with history. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good story of love conquering (nearly) all. This novel was sweet, but filled with danger, and many of the lessons Anne learns in life, still hold true today. I will definitely read this again.
★★★★★★★★★★ (5/10)
Have you ever read a book, and when you summarize the plot, it made for a captivating, or at least interesting, story. BUT, when you think back about your experiences while reading said book, you can't help but cringe at the thought of putting yourself through such torture again? That's how I feel about Sons of Fortune. I felt the same way after finishing every Charles Dickens's novel I've read, as well as some of Tolkien's novels, among other equally verbose authors. They all seem to have one thing in common: they are great at creating memorable plots, characters, and events, but they are terrible at keeping one's interest and give details in all of the wrong places. Malcolm Macdonald has joined a very select group of authors, most of whose books I will never read again.
Sons of Fortune is the third novel in Macdonald's Stevenson saga, about a family who start in poverty, and through sheer will, cunning, and business sense, create one of the largest, and most profitable, enterprises in England's history. (I will say right now that I have no idea if the Stevensons are a real family, or if everything is completely fictional, and I have no desire to delve into it.) In this segment, Macdonald focuses on the growing pains the family faces. Now that the Stevensons are rich, they are being admitted into the restrictive world of London Society, and Mr. John Stevenson (later Baron, then Earl), is determined that all of his children, and his wife if he can bring it about, will all follow Society's rules, to the letter, regardless of their own wishes and hopes. The problem is that the money the family has made, and the unique upbringing the Stevenson children have had, makes the father's dream almost impossible.
The three oldest children, Boy (real name John), Winifred, and Caspar, all have very different ideas of what they'd like to do in life, compared to what their father wants them to do. John Stevenson has decided that his oldest son, Boy, will take over the firm; his oldest daughter, Winifred, will marry respectably and behave as a proper Society lady; and Caspar, being a younger son, will go into the military, wherever his father can purchase a commission. Boy, who has grown into unrealistic ideals, sees all of these plans as right and proper, because he believes it is their duty to obey their father, and he is fairly happy about following in John's footsteps. Caspar, on the other hand, believes that he'd be a better choice to head the company, and will do anything to follow his dream to go into trade. Winifred just has a love for education. She wants to teach, and further the education interests of women in England. Her dream is to open her own school, that would eventually become co-ed.
The novel kind of skips around depending on where you are in the plot. It starts off with John, and his worries about his children's futures. Then moves to Boy and Caspar, and their experiences at the boarding school Fiennes. Later, it speaks from their mother., Nora's, point of view. Winifred never has her view seen, the other children (there are 9 in total by the end) are barely heard from, and other minor characters dart in and out, or disappear without notice. If there were a rhyme or reason to explain why the perspective shifts, I'd have been happier. I'd even have been content if the novel had been told entirely from Caspar's view (he was mostly what kept me reading, since I could empathize with him the most).
I will say that the historical accuracy is very good. Details about London Society of the mid 1800s is very correct, as well as matching the Stevensons' time period up with events going on abroad. Either Macdonald did his research, or he already knew a lot about mid-19th century history. However, historical accuracy cannot make up for the tedium this book brought on. When I finished, I felt as though a heavy, depressing, uncomfortable burden had been lifted from my brain, and I breathed fresh mental air for the first time in nearly two weeks. That time, two weeks, was indication enough that I was not happy with Sons of Fortune; I haven't taken that long to read a 500 page novel since Oliver Twist (and, yes, I know OT is slightly more than 500 pages, but my point still stands).
I can't say that I'll ever read another Macdonald novel, and he has over thirty. He's certainly prolific, I'll give him that (although he's published novels under three different names, which strikes me as suspicious). I would not recommend Sons of Fortune to the casual reader. If you enjoy highly dense, overly detailed novels that you prefer to spend weeks, rather than days reading, then this may be a good choice for you. This is not my type of novel, but kudos to those who do enjoy this one and its like. I'll be very happy to go back to something light and fluffy after this to give my head a relaxing reprieve from the trial I've put it through reading Sons of Fortune.
