Reading the Classics: CASTLE RACKRENT, by Maria Edgeworth
Most people assume that the first historical novel was written by Sir Walter Scott, but this one was penned by Maria Edgeworth while he was
Tag: Sherwood Smith
The Memoirs of Madame Roland: A Heroine of the French Revolution
This is a very hard book to read, when one is aware at all times that it was written by a living, breathing woman who
Reading the Classics: WAVERLEY, by Sir Walter Scott
I found it fascinating for a bunch of different reasons. First I enjoyed the story, even though the two main women in it were pretty
Reading the Classics: THE EXPEDITION OF HUMPHREY CLINKER, by Tobias Smollett
Reading the 18th Century novel is very much like riding a rambunctious horse. Actually, bowling along in a carriage; 100 years later, Eliot and the
Roman à Clef: GLENARVON, by Lady Caroline Lamb
This type of story has been around a long time. Who knows, Chaucer might have pilloried people in his life, presenting them as characters on
Sexy! Fun! And slyly smart: review of THE BEARSKIN RUG, by Jennifer Stevenson
Early on in The Bearskin Rug, protagonist Jewel Heiss fondly looks back on a relationship she’d had at seventeen with the family’s septuagenarian lawyer. He
Interview with Brenda Clough on HIS SELACHIAN MAJESTY REQUESTS
I had a gas reading this book. Brenda Clough maintains she writes historical SF, maybe too confining a label? She has set a number of
Reading the Classics: Lady Susan, by Jane Austen, the novel everyone ignores
I’ve noticed over the years that a lot of Austen fans (the ones who tend to want to confine Jane Austen to a tiny box
I Hate This Book.
Discussions like this can be so interesting. I love discovering what works for who, and why. But it’s equally easy to descend into variations on
Review of JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF, by Rebecca Romney
The title, the reader soon learns, is literal. The author explains why she decided to assemble a shelf of Jane Austen’s books—that is, the ones,
The Rambling Writer Book Review: CORONETS AND STEEL by Sherwood Smith
A fabulous tale of intrigues and derring-do, with a flavor of folkloric magic. Sherwood Smith has done it again – keeping me up to read
Reading the Classics: Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
This is the mystery Austen novel, in that some Austen scholars, like Arthur Axelrad, have surmised that this novel was a very early one that
Reading the Classics: Agnes Grey, by Anne Brontë
My favorite of the Brontes is Anne. This is my favorite of her novels. In this and Jane Eyre, we have governess-eye views of the