A jam-packed day

Today I'd like to talk about Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson. [A/N: A little over 10 years ago a film based on the book was released with Amy Adams and Frances McDormand so you may be familiar with the plot.] The story follows Miss Pettigrew who is a down-on-her-luck governess looking for work. It seems that life has only been full of disappointments and drudgery for this single lady so when she glimpses an opportunity to escape her mundane existence she grabs it. Can you blame her? While she's been a straitlaced genteel sort of person her whole life, Miss Pettigrew soon finds herself in surprisingly compromising situations when she enters the world of Delysia LaFosse. Not only is Miss LaFosse a Nightclub Singer but she's currently juggling 3 men without much success of permanent happiness. THREE MEN?! Miss Pettigrew is aghast and agog but she's also thoroughly enchanted and she soon decides that it is her duty to set Miss LaFosse on the right path and make her marry one of them. And she knows exactly which one that should be (and if you've watched the film you'll know he's played by Lee Pace so YES CORRECT CHOICE).

If you're looking for a funny story about a woman who decides to throw caution to the wind and really live for the first time in her life then this might be a great choice for you. It was a really quick and entertaining read overall but there are some questionable moments that pop up now and again re Jewish people and men abusing women. They crop up at the oddest moments without adding anything to the plot and in fact they make the reading experience somewhat jarring which knocks down the rating to a 6/10 for me.

PS I loved the formatting of this book which was broken up by the hours of the day reinforcing that all of the action of the story takes place in one day. A super quick read!

Source: Goodreads

What I'm currently reading: Fox Tossing and Other Forgotten and Dangerous Sports, Pastimes, and Games by Edward Brooke-Hitching

**If you're interested in buying any of these books or any books really, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks which is a site I use all of the time to find used books at an excellent price. A lot of the time I don't even pay for shipping! Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made through this link. You will not be charged anything additional for my commission. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Resurrection and rebirth

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield is a difficult book to categorize because it doesn't fit neatly into any one genre. It's historical fiction looked at through the medium of magical realism with a healthy dose of the supernatural. All of the interwoven narratives (of which there are 4 main ones) center on the River Thames with quite a few factoids about that body of water sprinkled liberally throughout. [A/N: The author's notes section at the back details Setterfield's research which is unsurprisingly thorough.] The opening scenes of the book take place in The Swan on a dark and stormy night with the arrival of a mysterious stranger who is injured and carrying a little girl who is dead...until she isn't. The biggest mystery morphs from how she could possibly come back to life into who exactly she is and subsequently which family can call her their own. Flipping between a couple grieving for their child who has been lost for years, a disturbed woman who thinks the little girl is her dead sister, a man who believes she might be his grandchild, and a doctor (and her would-be suitor) this is Drama (capitalization necessary).

Frankly, I think Diane Setterfield has knocked it out of the park again. Once Upon a River is another work of beautiful writing with interesting characters (very different from those in The Thirteenth Tale which affirms my belief that Setterfield is a magician). This book is more adult in tone so be aware there are some explicit scenes but they are by no means overused or detracting from the overall story. And if magical realism and the supernatural aren't your thing then you're probably not going to fully get this book but I encourage you to give it a shot anyway because the writing is just so dang great. 10/10

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: Elfquest Archives Volume 4 by Wendy & Richard Pini

What I'm Currently Reading: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Boarding school satire

The Compleet Molesworth by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle (co-creator and illustrator) had been on my TRL for ages. I was intrigued by the illustrations that were depicted on the cover and its comparison to my dear Roald Dahl. This is a classic children's series (bound together in its entirety here) about a boy named Nigel Molesworth who narrates his time in a boy's boarding school called St. Custard's. Willans captures the spirit of boyhood in a private boarding school especially well owing to his being a Headmaster himself. (This is even funnier once you get to know Headmaster Grimes who is particularly fond of the cane.) This book is replete with bad spelling (evidenced in the title) and absolutely stunning illustrations by Searle who was a satirical cartoonist (perfect for this series). Molesworth and his buddies get up to many hi-jinks and shenanigans which are generally instigated by our hero. Amidst all of this tomfoolery Willans and Searle have taken jabs at the inequalities of the classes by showcasing the Head Boy Grabber as only being placed in such a prestigious position because his parents shell out lots of money. (The Headmaster is greedy and generally does all he can to cut corners most notably with the selection of food offered to the students.) If you can get used to the bad spelling, grammatical errors, made-up slang, and seemingly arbitrary abbreviations for everything you will see why this has held up as a true children's classic. It's witty, cutting in its bluntness, and in general everything I hoped it would be. 10/10

Source: Amazon.co.uk

I wanted to give a little taste for the delights that await you.

What's Up Next: Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson

What I'm Currently Reading: Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

A love story you won't soon forget

I struck gold because I didn't think I'd fall so deeply in love with a book so quickly after finishing up The American Way of Death Revisited but then along cameThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows & Mary Ann Shaffer. GUYS. This book was a joy to read from start to finish. I gobbled it up in 2 days and then felt absolutely bereft when it was over. If you enjoyed 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (this is the reason I picked it up) then you will love this book too. Told in letters and telegrams this is the story of a group of people living in a small town in the Channel Islands called Guernsey and their interactions with a Londoner (and writer) named Juliet. Juliet had made her name (except it was actually not her name but a pen name) writing a popular humor column during WWII but at its close (and the beginning of our story) we find her in a bit of a writing rut and looking for her next challenge. This is when she receives a letter from a man in Guernsey who has found a book about Charles Lamb with her name written inside the front cover. This is the beginning of her interest in the place, its people, and its creation of a literary society which saw them through the war and their occupation by German soldiers. While it starts with correspondence between Juliet and Dawsey (the man with the book) it soon blossoms into back-and-forth communication with the other members of the Society (and a few Islanders hellbent on its dissolution). A common thread runs through much of their remembrances of the occupation and the start of the Society and it seems to center around Elizabeth McKenna who while not an Islander came to play a pivotal role in so many of their lives. There were quite a few "WHOA" and "THAT explains it!" moments while reading this book (as well as quite a few tears I ain't gonna lie). I think it's impossible not to fall in love with this book and its characters. 10/10 and absolutely gutted there won't be more books written by Shaffer in the future.

PS Someone informed me they adapted this for film and I AM LIVING FOR IT. (Lily James is one of my faves so ya'll know I'm gonna be watching this at my earliest convenience.)

Source: Goodreads

What's Up Next: Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan

What I'm Currently Reading: I don't even know anymore

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

I would have been a runaway

Firstly, I have to apologize for Friday's missed post and the lateness of this one. Things have been a bit hectic (more so than usual) at work and I just haven't had the desire or energy to read. Actually, I tried to read two books which I ultimately decided I had no interest in before I picked up today's book. Just goes to show that the heart wants what the heart wants... *cue segue music*

Terms & Conditions: Life in Girls' Boarding Schools, 1939-1979 by Ysenda Maxtone Graham is exactly what I was looking for this week. As the title suggests, this is a non-fiction book about what it was like to attend a boarding school for girls from the years of 1939-79 (in the United Kingdom obviously). The author conducted numerous interviews of women who attended these school who recalled startlingly vivid memories (both ill and pleasant) of their time there. From what it was like to be separated from family at a young age (some incredibly young) to the traumatic recollections of the horrible food they were forced to eat to what really went on when a bunch of hormonal girls were kept sequestered without any boys in sight this is a book that is both informative and interesting. (It's also super funny.) I've read some fanciful stories about what it's like to live in a boarding school but never true accounts from the girls themselves about what actually went on behind those austere facades. (Seriously a ton of them were in manor houses and castles which makes me super jealous.) There are many similarities between the institutions and also some gargantuan differences. For instance, some of the places (Cheltenham for instance) were strict, highly academic, and the girls that left there were more likely to continue into higher education. Others were more practically minded (or obsessed with horses and sports) and the girls that left there were generally encouraged to go to secretarial college and then look for a husband almost immediately after entering the workforce. It's an eye-opening read about what it was like for these upper-crust girls who were sent away by their families and then suppressed by these same people into wanting less for themselves. I highly recommend this not only because it's extremely well-written and researched but also because it's so fascinating comparing it to the way young women of today are educated and their expectations after leaving school. 10/10

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Politics, drama, and horses...not necessarily in that order

I decided to tackle a rather formidable bit of fiction pretty much on a whim in the form of South Riding by Winifred Holtby. It took me much longer to read than I had anticipated but that's just a good lesson that sometimes you need to take your time with a book. :-) Apparently this book is a literary classic although I had only heard about it recently through a YouTube channel (Mercy's Bookish Musings if you're curious). What drew my interest (besides the gorgeous cover art) was the setting which is a small area of Yorkshire. (As some of you may know, I'm kinda obsessed with the English countryside and I had the very good luck to visit Yorkshire in 2015 and fell a lot in love with it. THE MOORS, YA'LL.) South Riding is a fictional area of Yorkshire where city councilmen (and a councilwoman) pretty much run the show. If you've ever lived in a small town, particularly a rural one, then you'll recognize the intricate balance between government "officials" and their fellow townspeople. This was set in 1933-35 right at the start of WWII when the country was still harboring hope that the war could be avoided. Our main character, Sarah Burton, is a headmistress who is a revolutionary (at least to the people in South Riding) and ready to shake things up. The lone female on the City Council, Mrs. Beddowes, sees in Sarah a chance to improve the reputation of the school but she also feels that she can muster some amount of control over her (spoiler alert: this is doomed to fail). There are quite a few side stories such as that of Lydia Holly who lives in poverty but aspires to be an academic success the likes of which South Riding has never before seen. Not to mention the rather despicable men who like Mrs. Beddowes are on the City Council. One of them really turned my stomach. *shudder* I went into this book thinking that it was likely to be a romantic tale but if anything the romance was between the characters and their town. It's quite plain that Holtby harbors a nostalgic love of the Yorkshire where she grew up and it's palpable on nearly every single page of this book. If for nothing else, I enjoyed South Riding because of this. Otherwise, it wasn't exactly a life changing read (read Dickens for that). I'd give it a solid 6/10.

Source: amazon.com

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Masterpost: The Grantchester Mysteries (Books 1-5)

I kept seeing advertisements for a series on the BBC called Grantchester which is all about a vicar who is a part-time detective. After watching the first season, I knew that I needed to read the books that inspired the show. I waited until I made my way through all the ones that are currently out so I could do a masterpost with my review of the series as a whole. Let's do this!

Word on the street (Wikipedia) is that the author, James Runcie, only has one more book planned for this series so this is a great time to get caught up before its release. Each book includes several mysteries other than the one which gives the book its title. It follows Sidney Chambers right after the end of WWII when he has recently become the vicar of Grantchester. Right from the start the reader is made aware that Sidney is not your typical man of the cloth. For one thing, he enjoys whiskey at the pub with his friend Geordie who is a police detective. For another he is massive fan of jazz and sees nothing wrong with going to a boozy club on his day off to enjoy the sultry songs (and the singers). He is also struggling between two opposing sides of his personality because Sidney is a part-time sleuth. The theme running throughout all of the books is this push-and-pull between what Sidney believes is his duty to his flock and his yearning to be where the action is. He justifies his actions as a detective by saying that as a clergyman it is his duty to involved in the lives of his parishioners. It's a shaky argument which pretty much everyone points out to him. Runcie makes some considerable leaps through time between some of the stories so be prepared for that. I found it somewhat jarring because I'm used to mystery series such as Agatha Christie's where the characters can feel like they're living in a bubble. If I had to complain about anything from this series it would probably be that the tone borders on being sanctimonious at times which I felt didn't track with how I viewed the character and so it didn't fit as the tone for the narrative. However, if you want to get outside of your head and sit back with a mystery on a cold night this winter then I recommend you give Runcie's Grantchester Mysteries a shot.

The books in the series:

1. Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death


2. Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night


3. Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil


4. Sidney Chambers and The Forgiveness of Sins


5. Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Aspidistra sounds like the name of an alien

Since it's been awhile since I read a classic, I thought I'd give Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell a shot. It kept cropping up on my radar and the name alone had me quite intrigued. I went into this blind...even to the extent that I didn't look to see what the heck an Aspidistra was. (I know now though and saw it mentioned fleetingly in Harry Potter so it's definitely super British-y.) For someone who is a huge fan of 1984, this book fell pretty flat. The book follows a man by the name of Gordon Comstock who fancies himself a poet but in reality is little more than a poor bookshop assistant. Right off the bat, I felt that Gordon had 0% likability and his actions made no sense to me whatsoever. At one point, I decided to look up what other people thought of this book because it has a decent rating on Goodreads. Everyone seemed to think that this was a profound story about the struggle against commercialism and "the Man". What I see is the story of a man who is self-destructive, self-absorbed, and annoying. He is constantly picking apart everyone and everything around him in terms of its inherent value to society (there's a really long bit about advertising on different food products which was bizarre). Bottom line: this one wasn't a winner for me. I won't completely discount Mr. Orwell though. I'm sure I'll give him another shot in the future. :-) Also, I'm sorry that this is the second negative review in a row. Sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles. 1/10

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Honestly, I spent the entirety of this book fully convinced I was reading a nonfiction book about Alan Turing from the point of view of the policeman who found his body. Good job, David Lagercrantz! You totally fooled me! The book in question is Fall of Man in Wilmslow and it's the fictionalized story of Alan Turing's suicide and his contribution to the war effort and to numerous academic disciplines. Over the last year or more, I've been pretty much obsessed with all things A.I. and as a result I've learned a great deal about Alan Turing (and I've talked about him a few times here if you remember) who is considered the father of the modern computer AND Artificial Intelligence. What a guy! As a result, I'm pretty familiar with the biographical points of his life and his death. That's partially why I thought this was a work of nonfiction because all of those facts were laid out...which is the perfect way to build a fantastic piece of historical fiction. Lagercrantz used just enough of the truth to weave a convincing story about what might have happened had the policeman who found him been somewhat like Turing himself. Detective Constable Leonard Corell is the first officer on the scene and at first he is disgusted by not only the act of suicide itself but the man who committed it. This disgust turns into a kind of rage when he discovers that Turing was convicted of homosexuality. Even his initial aversion doesn't tamp down his horror at the punishment meted out by the government however. (He was chemically castrated which many believe was the main reason he chose to end his life as it led to severe depression.) Corell is an odd character. He flip flops between being overconfident in his abilities to allowing himself to be railroaded by his peers and bosses. He's also constantly daydreaming which I found tiring by the end of the novel. Speaking of the end of the novel, I didn't like it. It felt like the book was building and building and then the end was such a letdown. I can't say more about it without giving away huge spoilers but let's just say it was closely tied into Corell's daydreams. If you're completely unfamiliar with Turing and his work then this is an interesting way to get clued in because as I said much of the story is completely factual. Excepting the end, I really did enjoy this book. Lagercrantz is an excellent storyteller and he fooled me into thinking this was entirely plausible. 8/10 because that ending bummed me out.

Source: abebooks.com

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

I don't like romance novels

At the end of December (I think) I mentioned that this year would see more reviews which were requested by authors, publishers, publicists, and/or public relations professionals. The books in today's post were generously sent to me by Get Red PR. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, here we go!

The cover art truly is beautiful

I pride myself on giving honest reviews while trying to at least find one positive point in books that I otherwise didn't like. Sometimes this can be quite difficult. With that being said, Cavendon Hall by Barbara Taylor Bradford felt more like a chore than a fun exercise to me. This isn't because Bradford is a terrible writer. Some of her descriptive prose was absolutely beautiful. She's especially eloquent when it comes to scenery and clothes. For me, she didn't deliver when it came to the characters and the plot. This is the first book I've ever read by this author but I understand from her bio that she's quite prolific and is in fact a #1 New York Times bestselling author (if that means anything to you). She's even been awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth for her contributions to literature. Perhaps that is why I was doubly disappointed by this book. She's been lauded as being so fantastic but I found her characterization to be unbelievable and fake while the storyline was utterly predictable and boring. From the first few pages, I knew that the book would be a struggle for me. A few years back, I reviewed Below Stairs by Margaret Powell which was the inspiration for Downton Abbey. Cavendon Hall felt like a sub par ripoff of the show. That rankled. The story revolves around an aristocratic family called the Inghams and the family they've employed on the Cavendon estate for 170+ years, the Swanns. It's set during the Great War in the county of Yorkshire in Northern England. Something terrible happens at the start of the novel and the remainder is dealing with the aftermath.

The costuming is exactly as described

And then I read the sequel, The Cavendon Women, and I found it to be more enjoyable than the first book (it's a series and I have no idea how many are going to be in it as this book just came out). I think that this was because rather than dwelling on one dramatic event as she did with Cavendon Hall, Bradford touched more on each member of the family (of which there are many). The characters were somewhat more fleshed out and (GASP!!) their flaws were brought to light. I was starting to believe these two families were pod people to be honest. Everyone is gorgeous, talented, and morally upright. I prefer my characters to be multi-dimensional. I would like to applaud Bradford for imbuing the women with extraordinary strength and independence especially for the time period in which it was set (the roaring 20's). It's hard to give a definitive review for either of these books. I didn't hate them but I certainly didn't love them. I doubt I'll ever reread them and I'm uncertain if I'll even retain the memory of the characters beyond the writing of this review. :-/

Also, I'm really just not a fan of romance novels and the way these had been presented I thought for sure they were historical fiction. It was more like tiny snippets from history were glimpsed through a peephole of a multi-layered romance. And why do there need to be so many gratuitous sex scenes??

**If you're interested in buying these books or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Children's Classics (and their movie adaptations) Part One

Longtime readers of the blog may have picked up on the fact that I absolutely adore classic literature. I'm a big fan of Dickens and Austen especially. However, there are a lot of children's classics which I haven't really touched upon here and since I have a hankering to read them...HERE WE GO!

The first one on the list is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Now this is a book which I first read back in middle school and I do believe I reread at least twice since then. I picked up a used hardcover copy a few years back at one of my local libraries for $0.25 (it's gorgeous and I love it) but until this past week I haven't stopped to reread this delightful little tome. The story centers on the March family which consists of Marmee (Mother), Father (away at the war at the beginning), Meg (eldest), Jo, Beth, and Amy (youngest). Each of the characters has a distinct (and at times rather exaggerated) personality. From the outset, it is clear that the reader is meant to favor Jo. Her character is the most fleshed out and tangible. She is outspoken and her biggest regret is that they weren't all born as boys. They are a close knit family group that is rounded out by their housekeeper and their neighbors next door who consist of a boy Jo's age and his grandfather. The story runs from their childhood into their adulthood and covers everything from petty sibling arguments to childbirth to death. Louisa May Alcott continued the series with Little Men and Jo's Boys which are excellent reads but not as great as Little Women in my opinion. The book was adapted to film in 1995 and included such actors as Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, and Christian Bale. The script stayed pretty close to the storyline of the book but I found the casting of some of the characters to be a bit off. For example, I think that the girl who played Meg would have done better as Beth and Christian Bale was not AT ALL what I pictured as Laurie. Otherwise, it was alright but if I had seen it first I don't think I would have been inspired to read the novel that it was adapted from.

Moving on from there, I finally read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I want to start with the film review for this one because it's truly in my top 5 favorite films of all time. The movie came out in 1993 and is the reason why I have wanted to ramble across the Yorkshire moors (which I finally did this summer!). The script includes lines which are directly lifted from the novel and is almost entirely faithful to the storyline. It is absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend it. Now for the book! It features a little girl named Mary Lennox who is orphaned and sent to live with an uncle who she has never met named Archibald Craven. Mary's childhood up until this point has been rather lonesome, grim, and without affection. As a result, she is a morose and not at all agreeable child. The house is large, foreboding, and empty apart from the servants as Mr. Craven frequently travels. They're situated out on the Yorkshire moors which to the little girl appears barren and desolate. At first, you think that Mary's life has not improved one iota...and then she starts exploring the gardens. She learns that there is a garden that is hidden and which no one has been inside for 10 years since Mrs. Craven died. Through seemingly magical circumstances, she locates the key and finds her way inside only to discover that the garden is not entirely dead. She enlists the help of a boy that lives on the moors named Dickon who tames animals and over time helps to tame her as well. They decide they are going to bring the garden back to life. This isn't the only mystery of the novel either...and I'm not going to tell you anymore because you need to read it and then watch the film. GO, GO, GO!

Modern views from a time gone by

Below Stairs is a memoir of a woman who entered into domestic service as a kitchen maid at 13 and who saw the injustice of her situation (and indeed of all those in servitude) at a time when conditions were on the peak of changing. At the beginning of the tale, Margaret Powell is at home with her family which is large (typical of the time) and poor (also typical of many families). She must leave home, school, and everything she is familiar with because there is not enough money to keep her. What she discovers at her first place of work in service is that the dichotomy between Them upstairs and the servants below stairs is extremely pronounced despite the whisper of changes on the horizon. As the lowest rung on the service ladder, the kitchen maid (in Margaret's opinion) is treated with the least amount of respect or common decency. The story goes on to describe not only the differences between the classes but also the differences between the sexes. Powell's views are modern and revolutionary for the time period and her wit is absolutely biting. I thought this was a very interesting and entertaining read and I can definitely see how Downton Abbey used this as a reference point (you'll recognize some plot points if you're a fan of the show). I recommend it for anyone who'd like a quick, fun read that's also chock full of history (and cooking!).

Because I have absolutely no restraint when it comes to entering any 'book place' I came back from a visit to the library with Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. I feel like I heard about this book when it originally came out but for whatever reason I'm just now getting around to it after a recommendation showed up in my email. The main characters of this murder mystery are those beloved individuals from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Really that's all you had to say to me and I would have been intrigued. Frankly, any fan of Jane Austen and/or mysteries would be hard pressed to pass up a book with such a titillating blurb.