Jo and I are having a quiet Saturday, at the moment watching highlights of the World Figure Skating Championships. Strange without crowds, very quiet.
This morning I finished a book I've been working for the past month or so. I'll provide my review as well as the synopsis of the next book. I'll also continue with my latest theme, women authors I'm enjoying.
Just Finished
"I was surprised to discover that I'd already read two of Charlotte Brontë's novels before I enjoyed this one, Shirley, her 2nd of 4 completed novels. I've enjoyed every one and Shirley was no exception. It was originally 1849. According to the synopsis on my edition, it was written after the deaths of her brother and 2 sisters and she found it difficult to finish. Her main characters, Shirley Keeldar and Caroline Helstone, displayed her feelings towards her beloved sisters.
The story is set during the early 1800s when Britain was engaged in a long lasting war with Napoleon and was also struggling with Luddite riots (fighting against modernization of factories), bad harvests and social unrest. All of these themes feature throughout this excellent book, but the main theme revolves the two excellent women leads mentioned in the previous paragraph.
It's a rich, textured story. We meet Robert Gerard Moore, an industrialist originally from Antwerp. He runs a local mill which he is trying to modernize and is struggling due to trade restrictions caused by the ongoing war. Workers are protesting his mill and he must deal with this. It's a tense, violent time as he gets rioters, threats of violence. At the same time, we meet Caroline Helstone, his cousin who loves him very much. This dynamic plays out throughout the book. Caroline lives with her uncle, Rev Matthew Helstone, a hard, cool man. Caroline's father is dead and his mother abandoned her when she was young. (She will discover more about her mother as the story progresses).
The owner of the land on which resides Moore's mill, Shirley Keeldar, arrives and brings her head strong, independent attitude to the story. We follow her growing friendship with Caroline. Shirley's London family, the Sympsons, comes to visit and we meet Moore's brother Louis, who tutors the Sympsons frail, young son. He also tutored Shirley when she was a mite younger. The main four characters remain the two women and the Moore brothers but it's a richer story than just that. There are so many excellent story lines to follow and fascinating peripheral characters.
I can't do the whole story justice but suffice it to say it's a wonderful romance (s), dramatic (riots, shootings, deathly illness) and just a fascinating portrait of the times, both the people and current events and their impact. I have had difficulties getting into some of the classics I've enjoyed, the language of the time mainly, but this story grabbed me immediately and had a perfect flow to it and got better and better as I delved further into it. I'm not a 'romance' follower but I found myself cheering on both Caroline and Shirley, smacking their potential 'lovers' on the head to help them get a move on. It was a wonderful story, tragic at times but peopled with two fascinating and strong women characters. Charlotte Bronte has written some of my favorite classics, Jane Eyre and The Professor, and now this also ranks amongst my favorites. (5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"She was cool, attractive - a society lady - and in trouble. Benny Cooperman, a private eye with a hard head and a tender heart, was ready to help her in any way he could. When her husband committed suicide as he begins an investigation, the detective realizes he's no longer dealing with "a family affair". Probing into the curious circumstances surrounding the death, Benny finds himself in the midst of more suicides - or murders."
Women Authors I Enjoy - Kate Atkinson
Over the past few years, I've enjoyed 4 of English author Kate Atkinson's excellent novels; her Jackson Brodie mystery series and her standalone novels. Atkinson was born in York in 1951. Since 1995, she has written 11 novels, as well as plays and a story collection. I still have 3 of her novels on my bookshelf awaiting my attention. I'll highlight those.
Kate Atkinson
"In Life After Life Ursula Todd lived through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. In A God in Ruins, Atkinson turns her focus on Ursula’s beloved younger brother Teddy – would-be poet, RAF bomber pilot, husband and father – as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge will be to face living in a future he never expected to have."
"On a hot summer day,
Joanna Mason's family slowly wanders home along a country lane. A moment
later, Joanna's life is changed forever...
On a dark night
thirty years later, ex-detective Jackson Brodie finds himself on a train
that is both crowded and late. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly hears a
shocking sound...
At the end of a long day, 16-year-old Reggie
is looking forward to watching a little TV. Then a terrifying noise
shatters her peaceful evening. Luckily, Reggie makes it a point to be
prepared for an emergency...
These three lives come together in
unexpected and deeply thrilling ways in the latest novel from Kate
Atkinson, the critically acclaimed author who Harlan Coben calls "an
absolute must-read."
"Tracy Waterhouse leads a
quiet, ordered life as a retired police detective-a life that takes a
surprising turn when she encounters Kelly Cross, a habitual offender,
dragging a young child through town. Both appear miserable and better
off without each other-or so decides Tracy, in a snap decision that
surprises herself as much as Kelly. Suddenly burdened with a small
child, Tracy soon learns her parental inexperience is actually the least
of her problems, as much larger ones loom for her and her young charge.
Meanwhile, Jackson Brodie, the beloved detective of novels such as Case Histories,
is embarking on a different sort of rescue-that of an abused dog. Dog
in tow, Jackson is about to learn, along with Tracy, that no good deed
goes unpunished."
Such a great author. A complete list of Kate Atkinson's works can be found at this link.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Stay safe. 😷
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