I’m finally sitting down and getting book reviews up for you all! I’ve been reading quite a bit lately – novels and books for research, as you’ll soon see! I’ve joined an online book club called An Enchanted Book Club, where each month a classic book is chosen. September’s was Peter Pan! Let’s get to the reviews, shall we?
Sherwood by Meagan Spooner – When Marian puts on Robin’s cape to help her maid’s brother, she doesn’t intend to lead people to believe that he has returned. Because he never can- he’s died in the Holy Crusades far from England. But there’s a corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham draining the people and land of food and hope, and Guy of Gisborne wans to take Robin’s place as Lord of Locksley as well as Marian’s fiancee’. She decides that if no one else will stop them, she will. She decides to become her own hero : Robin Hood.
– Click the title to read my review! Trust me, this book is worth one extra click.
Yours for Liberty: Selections from Abigail Scott Duniway’s Suffrage Newspaper by Jean M. Ward – Duniway started a small newspaper in 1871- one of the very few of its time that was focused on the advancement of women. This book shares excerpts from its conception to when she sold it.
-Duniway was a powerful woman in a time when women were expected to mind the house and babies. While she did raise several kids, she also pushed the boundaries of normality and became the main breadwinner after her husband had an accident. She was formidable in the fight for women’s emancipation.( I got this from the library)
Abigail Scott Duniway and Susan B. Anthony in Oregon: Hesitate No Longer by Jennifer Chambers– When entrepreneur Duniway was on a business trip, she waited excitedly to meet Susan B. Anthony outside the convention. That meeting sparked a friendship that would last decades – through travel by train, carriage, horseback and boat as they shared the message that women had a right to vote. They each were vital in the parts they played to bring about the 19th ammendment.
Having read the previous book about Duniway, this was interesting to read more about her life in detail. Chambers shares an intimate view of each Duniway and Anthony as they fought tirelessly to give women a voice. They were different in many ways, and often disagreed, but their end goal was the same. Duniway became the head leader in the Pacific Northwest for the Suffrage movement. This was a good, easy read with a lot of interesting facts about the movement. Highly recommend. (I got this from the library)
The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden – Not only is Elizabeth Black the headmistress of a girls boarding school in Victorian London, she writes ‘silver-fork’ novels- stories for the upper-class societies. But she finds the restrictions placed on women constricting, so she’s assumed the pseudonym of Mr. King and writes penny-dreadfuls. Those stories of daring fights and dashing heroes fighting supernatural villians. Fletcher Walker is the most popular author of the penny-dreadfuls, until Mr. King comes along. Fletcher has come a long way from being a street urchin and now, as part of the Dread Penny Society, helps the fraternity to rescue as many kids from that life as he can. But, Mr. King is taking his readers- and his profits. In the search to find out who the elusive author is, Fletcher goes to Miss Black for her assistance. But neither expects the danger that is about to come their way – nor the attraction that draws them ever closer
This book, you guys. This book. Just click on the title and read my full review, okay? It’s worth it, I promise. (I got this from the library)
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie – When Peter Pan lands in the Darling’s nursery to look for his shadow, he meets Wendy, John and Michael. With a bit of help from pixie dust, he teaches them to fly and off they go to Neverland where they meet pirates, pixies, Indians and mermaids. With plenty of adventures for them, the Darling children are enthralled with the Boy who Refuses to Grow up, and the world he lives in.
I’m quite certain I’ve read this before but so much of it seemed new to me that I can’t be certain… I’m not the only one who does that, am I? I adore the Disney version, so it was fun to see what they kept and what they changed in the story. The book is a tad darker but not so much that I’d limit the age of who could read it. Barrie’s style is quite different from what I’ve read before, I’m intrigued to read another of his. Peter Pan will probably be a yearly read for me, it was fun, sweet and full of little lessons along the way.
The Mayflower Bride (Daughters of the Mayflower #1) by Kimberley Woodhouse– in 1620, Mary Elizabeth, along with her father and brother, board the Speedwell with her community of Seperatists in the search for a new life. William Lytton boards the Mayflower not only as a carpenter but also as an agent of the Virginia Company, to keep an eye on their interests as the colony is set up in the New World. But the journey seems doomed from the start- the season is not good for sailing, food runs low, disease runs rampant and hope is failing. Will Mary Elizabeth and her people survive in order to start their new life? Will William be branded a traitor and sent home?
-I snagged the first three books in this series when it was on crazy sale on christianbook.com. This book, as stated, starts in 1620 when three ships started out for the New World. I enjoyed the story overall, but it didn’t suck me in completely. I’m not sure why though. Woodhouse did her homework on the Separatists and those that sailed with them, and I really appreciated that. I especially liked William as he was trying to do what was right, even as he searched for his own faith. I did appreciate how clean the romance was, so sweet and caring without anything unnecessary! Because of that, I feel that even younger teens would be able to read this book and enjoy it as well as learn faith and life lessons.
American Queenmaker: How Missy Meloney brought Women into Politics by Julie Des Jardins– “Marie “Missy” Mattingly Meloney was born in 1878, in an America where women couldn’t vote. Yet she recognized the power that women held as consumers and family decision-makers, and persuaded male publishers and politicians to take them seriously. Over the course of her life as a journalist, magazine editor-in-chief, and political advisor, Missy created the idea of the female demographic. After the passage of the 19th Amendment she encouraged candidates to engage with and appeal to women directly. In this role, she advised Presidents from Hoover and Coolidge to FDR. By the time she died in 1943, women were a recognized political force to be reckoned with.” – I grabbed this synopsis from Goodreads because it’s just so well written.
–I got this from the library as part of my research for the novels that I’m writing. I’d never heard of Missy Meloney before but I’m so glad that, not only this book was written, but that I decided to give it a try! I expected to read only the bits that were what I was wanting info on but I found that I couldn’t put it down! I think everyone should learn about Meloney- she was a woman who was behind so much in this country. I also was inspired to try and work past/through my health ailments as she did throughout her life. This book was very well written and researched, it had so many interesting tidbits of history throughout.
Currently Reading:
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Rebecca by Daphne Du Marier
To Read:
Winter’s Heart( Wheel of Time #9) by Robert Jordan
The Pirate Bride (Daughters of the Mayflower #2) By Kathleeen Y’Baro
Police Procedure and Investigation- a Guide for Writers by Lee Lofland
20th Century Fashion 1900-1920 Linen and Lace by Sue Mee
Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans & Fashion, 1840-1900 by Joan Severa
(these last 3 are library books for research for my current WIP)
the start of a good life 