Happy Tuesday! Today’s TTT topic is a Non-Book Freebie. You didn’t really think I would go without mentioning a book, did you? 😉 Today I am sharing some places I have visited in the past few years and the books I either read while there or read prior to going. It’s a win-win — you get to find out a little more about me and I get to talk books. LOL!
Places I Have Visited (and the books that went with me)
Zion National Park — my whole family traveled there in March of this year. While they were more adventurous in their hikes, I did see some of the park’s beauties. I read America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie while there.
Shetland Islands — last fall my husband and I traveled to the northernmost part of the UK. We even sampled the fish and chips at the northernmost chip shop. I read False Pretense by Heather Day Gilbert while there. That’s Jimmy Perez’s house (if you are a fan of Shetland, you know) and that’s the view from the hotel.
Yellowstone National Park — we went to Yellowstone in the fall of 2021. I have tons of pictures, but I think a geyser says it all. Nope, it’s not Old Faithful, although we did see it erupt a number of times. I read Noble Callingby Rhona Weaver prior to my trip.
Alaska was amazing. We headed up to Talkeetna for a glimpse of Denali, then took a 7 day cruise with fabulous excursions. Glacier Bay pictured below was awesome. I read a number of books prior to that trip, you can find them HERE.
The North Georgia Mountains is my happy place! Yes the mountains may be more like tall hills, but I love them. The pics are of a few visitors we have had in our little slice of heaven. All just outside our windows. I’ve been listening to Turn to Me by Becky Wade, and it calls up all that I love about the area. I’ve just gotten to the part where the treasure hunt takes Luke and Finley to Blood Mountain. It is just a few miles south of our getaway home and a favorite hike of my husband.
My book club reads a lot of biographical fiction. It’s an interesting and entertaining way to learn more about a specific time, place, and person in history. This month we chose America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. With the first person POV of the main character, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph, it explores the life of not only Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, but of his contemporaries and family members. The book begins when Patsy is a young girl and finishes with her later years. It is filled with historical detail that a history-nerd will love. The Revolutionary War and the early years of the nation are not time periods I generally read, but this book was fascinating in its portrayal of a young nation founded on high moral principles, yet in reality a democracy riddled with injustices. Slavery, the huge elephant in the room given Jefferson’s own ownership of slaves and his relationship with Sally Hemings, is a big part of the story. Patsy is definitely a woman of her time, and though she abhors slavery (as do many of her acquaintance) she is unable to affect any kind of meaningful change. In fact, those with the power to do so either were unsuccessful or left it to later generations. The authors do a good job of balancing the context of the time (slavery, limited rights of women and children) with an honest portrayal of the subject matter. This is Patsy’s story to tell, and I feel the authors allowed this incredible woman to tell it. Patsy was witness to so much — the American Revolution, formation of a new nation, the unfolding of the French revolution, the rise and fall of political factions — yet she was first and foremost a dutiful daughter, a committed wife, and a nurturing mother of many children. Her life was both extraordinary and ordinary, and the novel expresses that so well.
If you are a fan of early American history, then this book is definitely for you. My book club googled a lot during the reading of the book! We also had an outstanding discussion.
Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(I purchased Kindle ebook from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph–a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.
From her earliest days, Patsy Jefferson knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter, she becomes his helpmate, protector, and constant companion in the wake of her mother’s death, traveling with him when he becomes American minister to France.
It is in Paris, at the glittering court and among the first tumultuous days of revolution, that fifteen-year-old Patsy learns about her father’s troubling liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age. Meanwhile, Patsy has fallen in love–with her father’s protégé William Short, a staunch abolitionist and ambitious diplomat. Torn between love, principles, and the bonds of family, Patsy questions whether she can choose a life as William’s wife and still be a devoted daughter.
Her choice will follow her in the years to come, to Virginia farmland, Monticello, and even the White House. And as scandal, tragedy, and poverty threaten her family, Patsy must decide how much she will sacrifice to protect her father’s reputation, in the process defining not just his political legacy, but that of the nation he founded.
Stephanie Dray is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into ten languages and tops lists for the most anticipated reads of the year. She lives in Maryland with her husband, cats, and history books.
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction, LauraKamoie has always been fascinated by the people, stories, and physical presence of the past, which led her to a lifetime of historical and archaeological study and training. She holds a doctoral degree in early American history from The College of William and Mary, published two non-fiction books on early America, and most recently held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time career writing genre fiction. She is the author of AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER, MY DEAR HAMILTON, and RIBBONS OF SCARLET, allowing her the exciting opportunity to combine her love of history with her passion for storytelling. Her upcoming novel, CHURCHILL’S SPYMISTRESS, is about SOE officer Vera Atkins and two of her spies in Occupied France during WWII. Laura lives among the colonial charm of Annapolis, Maryland with her husband and two daughters. http://www.LauraKamoie.com.
My book club (IWBC — Interesting Women Book Club 😉 ) generally reads biographical fiction. We chose The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray because we have enjoyed novels by Benedict before and the subject matter, Belle de Costa Greene, was intriguing. We mostly liked the book — it was well-written and researched, even if we didn’t always like main character Belle. Belle is notable for being a highly influential black woman in the the art world of the early 1900s. However, no one, except her immediate family, knew she was black. She passed in order to achieve her dreams. The increased prejudice, even in the North, kept people of color from jobs and schools. Belle’s mother’s family was influential in the black community of D.C., but her mother did not think that was enough to protect her family. Belle walked a tightrope in her professional and personal lives, always on guard in an effort for her secret not to be found out. An added burden was that her father, Richard Greener, was a well-respected civil rights activist who opposed her mother’s decision for the family to live as white. There is definitely a lot of tension in the book. Belle yearns to be herself, yet knows that she can never disclose the truth of her heritage. As I said we mostly liked the book, but Belle was a frustrating character making terrible decisions in her romantic life. Because it is a biographical novel, The Personal Librarian also provides interesting looks into the lives of other famous people, J.P. Morgan for one. The book is an eye-opener and did foster a great deal of discussion about the time Belle lived in, the years in which we grew up, and modern-day struggles. Identity is often a buzz word today, but The Personal Librarian was a good look into how identity can determine one’s future path. We learned a lot from the book, as well as the Google searches the book inspired. 😉 I believe all of us would recommend this novel.
Recommended. (This is a general market novel and has adult situations and language, but is generally a clean read.)
Audience: Adults.
(I listened to the audiobook I purchased through Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection.
But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American.
The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go to—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator at two of the country’s premier law firms, who found her calling unearthing the hidden historical stories of women. Her mission is to excavate from the past the most important, complex and fascinating women of history and bring them into the light of present-day where we can finally perceive the breadth of their contributions as well as the insights they bring to modern day issues.
Victoria Christopher Murray is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 30 novels. Her novel, The Personal Librarian, which she co-authored with Marie Benedict was an Instant New York Times bestseller and her novel, Stand Your Ground won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction. Two of her novels, Lust and Envy have been made into TV movies for Lifetime. Visit her at http://www.victoriachristophermurray.com
Happy Friday! My book club read The Christie Affair a few months ago. This fictional account that speculates on what happened during the weeks Agatha Christie went missing in 1926 was very interesting, but focused more on other characters than Christie herself. I picked up The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict at my local indie book store to get yet another take on the mystery surrounding the Queen of Mysteries! Now to find time to actually read it. 😉
Here’s the first line:
The letter flutters on the desk, almost keeping time with the footsteps thundering across the floor.
In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car—strange for a frigid night. Her World War I veteran husband and her daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away.
The puzzle of those missing eleven days has persisted. With her trademark historical fiction exploration into the shadows of the past, acclaimed author Marie Benedict brings us into the world of Agatha Christie, imagining why such a brilliant woman would find herself at the center of such murky historical mysteries.
What is real, and what is mystery? What role did her unfaithful husband play, and what was he not telling investigators?
Agatha Christie novels have withstood the test of time, due in no small part to Christie’s masterful storytelling and clever mind that may never be matched, but Agatha Christie’s untold history offers perhaps her greatest mystery of all.
My book club, the IWBC (the interesting women’s book club — because we are and they are 😉 ) read TheKennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher. I found it to be an interesting look into not only a very famous American family, but of the time in which it was set. Kick Kennedy was the second daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy. She is portrayed as vivacious and a bit rebellious, especially defiant to her mother’s strict parenting tactics. Kick falls in love with England and an English lord during her father’s posting as ambassador in London. British society, the run-up to WWII, and America’s stance on the war serve as a backdrop to this star-crossed romance. In the afterword, the author states that the book was originally supposed to be YA fiction, and I can see the influences of the genre on the final product. It was entertaining and educational, but I found it dragged on. Kick’s dithering may have played a role in the slowness of the final third of the book, but I think the author could have done a better job of portraying that part of the story. Despite that criticism, I found the book a good read, especially if you are looking for a biographical novel of a little known person who was indeed very famous in her own time. A good beach read!
(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
The captivating novel following the exploits of Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, the forgotten and rebellious daughter of one of America’s greatest political dynasties.
London, 1938. The effervescent “It girl” of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy moves in rarefied circles, rubbing satin-covered elbows with some of the twentieth century’s most powerful figures. Eager to escape the watchful eye of her strict mother, Rose; the antics of her older brothers, Jack and Joe; and the erratic behavior of her sister Rosemary, Kick is ready to strike out on her own and is soon swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire.
But their love is forbidden, as Kick’s devout Catholic family and Billy’s staunchly Protestant one would never approve their match. And when war breaks like a tidal wave across her world, Billy is ripped from her arms as the Kennedys are forced to return to the States. Kick finds work as a journalist and joins the Red Cross to get back to England, where she will have to decide where her true loyalties lie—with family or with love . . . .
Kerri Maher is also the author of This Is Not A Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World under the name Kerri Majors. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and founded YARN, an award-winning literary journal of short-form YA writing. For many years a professor of writing, she now writes full time and lives with her daughter in Massachusetts where apple picking and long walks in the woods are especially fine. She is a budding Instagrammer at @kerrimaherwriter, and you can also find her on Facebook at @kerrimaherwriter and on her website, http://www.kerrimaher.com
Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweather Post lived an epic life few could imagine.
Marjorie’s journey began gluing cereal boxes in her father’s barn as a young girl. No one could have predicted that C. W. Post’s Cereal Company would grow into the General Foods empire and reshape the American way of life, with Marjorie as its heiress and leading lady. Not content to stay in her prescribed roles of high-society wife, mother, and hostess, Marjorie dared to demand more, making history in the process. Before turning thirty she amassed millions, becoming the wealthiest woman in the United States. But it was her life-force, advocacy, passion, and adventurous spirit that led to her stunning legacy.
And yet Marjorie’s story, though full of beauty and grandeur, set in the palatial homes she built such as Mar-a-Lago, was equally marked by challenge and tumult. A wife four times over, Marjorie sought her happily-ever-after with the blue-blooded party boy who could not outrun his demons, the charismatic financier whose charm turned to betrayal, the international diplomat with a dark side, and the bon vivant whose shocking secrets would shake Marjorie and all of society. Marjorie did everything on a grand scale, especially when it came to love.
Bestselling and acclaimed author Allison Pataki has crafted an intimate portrait of a larger-than-life woman, a powerful story of one woman falling in love with her own voice and embracing her own power while shaping history in the process.
Allison Pataki is the New York Times bestselling author of THE QUEEN’S FORTUNE, THE TRAITOR’S WIFE, THE ACCIDENTAL EMPRESS, SISI: EMPRESS ON HER OWN, WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS, as well as the nonfiction memoir BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES and two children’s books, NELLY TAKES NEW YORK and POPPY TAKES PARIS. Allison’s novels have been translated into more than twenty languages. A former news writer and producer, Allison has written for The New York Times, ABC News, The Huffington Post, USA Today, Fox News and other outlets. She has appeared on The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, Good Day New York, Good Day Chicago and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
Allison graduated Cum Laude from Yale University with a major in English and spent several years in journalism before switching to fiction writing. A member of The Historical Novel Society, Allison lives in New York with her husband and family. To learn more and connect with Allison, please visit http://www.AllisonPataki.com or Twitter @AllisonPataki.
My Impressions:
I am a member of a book club that loves to read biographical fiction. Think fictionalized accounts of real people. We chose The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post because we have read and loved other of Allison Pataki‘s novels and because the subject character, Marjorie Merriweather Post, sounded fascinating. It got an unanimous thumbs up from us. The story is told in the first person voice of Marjorie Post, giving the reader an inside look into the workings of a very interesting woman. Smart, determined, resourceful — Marjorie took her company to new levels of success. She also had lots of marriages, and we felt that the one-sided viewpoint may have been a little biased. 😉 But we loved tagging along with Marjorie as she built Mar-A-Lago, wooed and wowed the DC elite, and rescued priceless Russian treasures. The audiobook version was well read, and made me find excuses to listen longer. If you are looking for an engaging read featuring a real-life person, I recommend this book. (Please note this is a general market novel.)
Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine.)
Happy Tuesday everyone! Who knew there were so many book titles that feature names? That’s the prompt for this week’s TTT. I didn’t have to go far in my reading log to find some great books. I have included a few older titles to go along with new-ish releases. There are lots of genres too — something for everyone.
One of my book clubs chose Enchantress of Numbers to further our goals of reading biographical fiction. We chose the book featuring Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace because we had read and enjoyed author Jennifer Chiaverini’s books and because it was not set in WWII. 😉 The story revolves around Lord Byron’s only child, Ada, and her fascination with all things mathematical and mechanical. Ada was quite the prodigy and is credited as the first computer programmer. There’s even a STEM holiday commemorating her. It was a long book, emphasis on long. While it did shed light on the era — Regency and early Victorian England — it was a bit of a slog. I listened to the audiobook borrowed from my library and had to renew twice. Another of our members stated that she felt like it was a school assignment to dread. No glowing recs from my group. It did emphasize the differences between educational and societal norms for women of the time and in our modern world. Ada was shaped by the legacy of her absent father and her domineering mother. I felt for Ada, but wish that the author had written more concisely. One of my group said she kept going with the novel in anticipation of something happening.
While we really can’t recommend the book, we were impressed by all that Ada Byron King accomplished. As always, reviews are subjective, but none of my group liked this book. Perhaps we were just not the target audience.
(I borrowed the audiobook from my library via Libby. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered, and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada was destined for fame long before her birth. But her mathematician mother, estranged from Ada’s infamous and destructively passionate father, is determined to save her only child from her perilous Byron heritage. Banishing fairy tales and make-believe from the nursery, Ada’s mother provides her daughter with a rigorous education grounded in mathematics and science. Any troubling spark of imagination—or worse yet, passion or poetry—is promptly extinguished. Or so her mother believes.
When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Little does she realize how her exciting new friendship with Charles Babbage—the brilliant, charming, and occasionally curmudgeonly inventor of an extraordinary machine, the Difference Engine—will define her destiny.
Enchantress of Numbers unveils the passions, dreams, and insatiable thirst for knowledge of a largely unheralded pioneer in computing—a young woman who stepped out of her father’s shadow to achieve her own laurels and champion the new technology that would shape the future.
The Olympics were a month away when my book club chose Fast Girls by Elise Hooper to discuss. Fast forward a few weeks, and the Olympics were in full swing and there were lots of obstacles that athletes faced being publicized. Especially women athletes. We enjoyed the book and found many parallels to the struggles of athletes today. Recommended by our group.
In the 1928 Olympics, Chicago’s Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever women’s delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as America’s Golden Girl until a nearly-fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything.
Outside of Boston, Louise Stokes, one of the few black girls in her town, sees competing as an opportunity to overcome the limitations placed on her. Eager to prove that she has what it takes to be a champion, she risks everything to join the Olympic team.
From Missouri, Helen Stephens, awkward, tomboyish, and poor, is considered an outcast by her schoolmates, but she dreams of escaping the hardships of her farm life through athletic success. Her aspirations appear impossible until a chance encounter changes her life.
These three athletes will join with others to defy society’s expectations of what women can achieve. As tensions bring the United States and Europe closer and closer to the brink of war, Betty, Louise, and Helen must fight for the chance to compete as the fastest women in the world amidst the pomp and pageantry of the Nazi-sponsored 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
A New Englander by birth, Elise Hooper now lives with her husband and two young daughters in Seattle.
She’s drawn to historical figures, especially women, who linger in the footnotes of history books yet have fascinating stories waiting to be told.
My daughter was an athlete. Still is in many ways, although her competitive spirit is mostly seen in basketball pick-up games and adult league soccer. Throughout the years she was competing — rec league, then club teams, high school, and college — she was inspired by players that had made their mark on her sport. Fast Girls by Elise Hooper pays tribute to the women of the 1936 US Olympic track team who battled gender bias, racism, societal expectations, and even family opposition. The biographical novel focuses on Betty Robinson, Louise Stokes, and Helen Stephens, ordinary, yet extraordinary women, in their quest to achieve a gold medal. While a fictional account, Hooper does an admirable job of bringing the era to life. These three overcame so much in their personal lives to compete on an international level. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, with each woman being a favorite as I read through their stories. As I read the book, I couldn’t help seeing parallels even today. Women compete at all levels now, but they still face similar trials as the women who went before them. I loved learning about the women who allowed women’s access to sport today. My book club read/discussed this book — we all liked it. But those who read the book (I listened to the audio version) said they had trouble at first distinguishing the characters. The audiobook has several narrators, making the transitions easier for the listener.
Of note: This is general market fiction and includes some adult language and situations not found in most Christian fiction.
Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
This summer I am choosing to read biographical novels, specifically those that feature women as the main character. So far I have read 4 — The Engineer’s Wife, Code Name Helene, The Queen of Paris, and Circling TheSun. All the women, well-known or obscure, made a big difference in their world.
Why read biographical novels?
If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a big fan of story. In the realm of biographical novels, I love to see how the author fleshes out the unknown aspects of a person’s life — conversations, thoughts, motivations. This was especially true in The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood. The author took some liberties with the main character’s life and loves, but all in all I really enjoyed living in the 1800s through the eyes of a woman who wanted more than society dictated for her.
I also love how a novelist can add drama, suspense, and romance. Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon was a page-turner. Nancy Wake was really larger than life and Lawhon captures her well. Coco Chanel was the focus of The Queen of Paris by Pamela Binnings Ewen, and while I didn’t like her very much, Ewen’s portrayal of the fashion icon rang true.
Speaking of not liking the main character, that seems to be a pitfall for biographical novels. I appreciate the authors including all the warts. I don’t think the novels would have the same level of authenticity without them. I read TheTraitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki some years ago, and knew that Peggy Shippen Arnold, the wife of the infamous Benedict Arnold, would not be a sympathetic character. It’s okay not to like the main character. Maybe it’s more fun that way! 😉
I have at least two more books on my biographical novel TBR list which should finish out my summer reading challenge — Fast Girls by Elise Hooper, a novel of three American women who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and The Only Woman in The Room by Marie Benedict, a novel of Heddy Lamar, movie star and scientist. I can’t wait to dig into these fascinating lives.
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