The Christie Affair

Finished August 26

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

This novel takes the real eleven-day disappearance of Agatha Christie that was never explained to a reimagined version that completely captivated me. Some elements of the disappearance were kept, but most names have changed and some people characterized differently than they were.

This novel is told from the point of view of Agatha's husband Archie's mistress, here named Nan O'Dea. Nan grew up in London, but spent summers at the home of her father's sister in Ireland and grew close to a young man there. The first world war upended her life, and after losing a family member she remained in England until after her young man Finbarr returned home. There was an event following this that determined her actions going forward and had a large effect on her state of mind.

Meanwhile Agatha had become a successful author, earning enough to support herself and it is implied that her husband may have resented her attentions to her craft rather than himself. Agatha was determined to save her marriage after she learned of his betrayal, but he finally made the decision to divorce. They argued and he left to spend the weekend with his mistress. Agatha disappeared late that evening, with her car found in strange circumstances the next day, sitting on the edge of a quarry. 

As the novel progresses, Nan tells the story from a variety of points of view, with explanations of how she knew what happened with these others, from Agatha herself, to Archie, to police officials. The crossing of paths between Nan and Agatha is interesting and well-thought-out. 

A large portion of the novel takes us through Nan's past and what led her to the affair with Archie. This portion of the novel is entirely fictional and takes us through other serious issues, mostly in Ireland. 

I enjoyed the way this novel humanizes Agatha and we see her vulnerability, and how she took the time to understand that she had limited choices going forward and had to accept the end of her marriage. A very engaging read. 

The Knowledge of Water

Finished August 21

The Knowledge of Water by Sarah Smith

This historical novel has elements of suspense and romance, as well as an interesting historical setting. It is 1910 and in Paris. 

One of the main characters, Alexander von Reisden adopted his current life when he was very young. At the age of eight, he was an American boy who killed in self-defense and fled, changing his name and his country. For years he had buried his memories of the past, but eventually remembered and now feels the weight of his actions heavily. He worried that his crime is a personality and moral flaw that he cannot escape. But the three people who know of his past have absolved him, recognizing the circumstances of the action he took. He now runs Jouvet Medical Analyses, an institute that specialized in mental disturbances and has an impressive case archive going back decades.

Perdita Halley is the other main character. She is a young American woman studying music, specifically piano, persevering in spite of her instructor's misogyny and her own failing sight.  She is the protégée of American rare book expert Gilbert Knight, who funds her studies and worries about her enough that he sends his friend, investigator Roy Daugherty to Paris to check on her, determine whether an outright gift of money is a good idea and see if his hoped-for union of Perdita and Alexander is likely.

Perdita and Alexander are close, and they grow closer despite their misgivings. They are drawn to each other, but Perdita worries that marriage will mean giving up music, and Alexander worries that Perdita won't be happy. 

Meanwhile the rain in France is at record levels and flooding issues grow more dire. There is also a murdered woman, who identified with the Mona Lisa, and whose body sits in the morgue waiting for the investigation on her death to lead to her murderer, and the museum guard who may have killed her. There is Milly Xico, a French writer whose ex-husband still tries to control her and exploit her talents as he did during their marriage, even as she makes strategic choices of her own. There is a possible art fraud regarding paintings by an artist who died a few years earlier, and his widow, Madame Mallais, who may be part of the fraud. 

I enjoyed the undercurrent of feminism here, with Perdita, Milly, and Madame Mallais, as they each navigate a world where women have different rules and expectations. There is also the very real flooding that happened in Paris and the immense damage it did, with both infrastructure damage and lives lost. 

The Secret Book Society

Finished July 19

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin

This historical novel focuses on a group of women struggling for control in their own lives in 1895. A widow, Lady Duxbury, has invited select women to tea at her home. She has sent a separate note via private means letting them know that it will involve more than tea, and that they have been asked for a reason. 

Eleanor Clarke is a young woman from a titled background, whose American husband wanted her to elevate his standing in society. He is brutish and cruel, limits her time with their young son, and controls almost everything in her life. The one thing she still has some autonomy for is her clothing. He also beats her in private, leaving marks mostly hidden by her clothing. 

Rose Wharton is an American woman from a loving family and married her husband, the second son of an Earl for love. But now his elder brother, the present Earl, is ill and Rose's husband will become the Earl soon. The current Earl is, for lack of a better word, training his brother for his duties and sets expectations on Rose as well, none of which she meets. It doesn't seem to matter how hard she tried, the Earl is always disappointed and Rose feels her husband is also disappointed in her. He has begun to limit her reading material, and be critical of her. Rose has struggled to be accepted in English society, due to her being American, and longs to make friends and have a happier life. She also suspects that she might be pregnant and is worried about telling her husband. 

Lavinia Cavendish is the oldest daughter in a titled family. She is emotional and bookish, and her grandmother was sent to a madhouse. Her father has been critical of her strong emotions lately, and has limited her reading material, and also her mother's reading material. It was her mother who was invited to tea, but she feels Lavinia will benefit from the opportunity. Lavinia's younger sister is soon to be presented and her father is worried about reputation. There is the threat of sending Lavinia away, similar to how her grandmother was treated. 

As the women open themselves to each other, connect through reading books, and begin to have that external support system, they also become more confident in themselves. Lavinia, in particular, finds writing poetry lets her express her emotions safely on the page and lets her be more calm in her daily life. She also attracts a suitor who is more progressive and understanding in nature than her father. 

This was an interesting study of women's lives in high society at a certain time, and emphasizes how little control they had over their own activities. I enjoyed it, and the ending seems to open the possibility for future books. 

The Paper Birds

Finished July 13

The Paper Birds by Jeannette Lynes

This historical novel follows Toronto high school graduate Gemma Sullivan from June 1943 through the end of World War II. Gemma was orphaned when her parents drowned in a swimming accident and she's had a fear of water ever since. She was raised by her Aunt Wren, a former milliner and now a seamstress. One of her teachers has recommended her for a job doing code breaking and with her signature on the Official Secrets Act, she can't tell her aunt, or anyone else what she actually does, so she just says office work.

Aunt Wren is still grieving the loss of her fiancé in World War I and her declining eyesight has led her to stop working in millinery and put them into precarious financial circumstances, so Gemma's income is very important for them. They also decide to take in a lodger, Rooney Delacroix, a young woman from Gravenhurst who has a job working at a tannery in the city. Rooney is a pleasant girl, but has her own secrets. 

Beatrice Fearing, Gemma's supervisor, worked as a math professor before working on code breaking and there are three other young women that work in the same small cottage near the lake. Cora-Lynn Ponder, a university math student had taken classes from Miss Fearing. Hester Hobbs is good with logical problems, and Ada Swift also works at another site where she secrets a variety of devices in objects. She's a good analyst. 

Wren is glad to use some of Gemma's pay to go to an eye doctor and get new glasses, and along with improved eyesight, she begins to look forward in her life with more optimism. 

One lunch hour, when Gemma takes a walk, she encounters a hungry cat and a young man behind a fence of a POW camp. She develops feelings for both, and must decide whether to trust her instincts. 

The war work is interesting and I enjoyed the personalities of the different women in the novel. Some of the coincidences in connections were a stretch, but it was still an enjoyable read. 

Death on the Island

Finished July 12

Death on the Island by Lynne Marie Taylor

This historical mystery is set in Malta in the fall of 1880, a time when Malta was controlled by the British. The main character in this series, of which this is the second book, is Scottish Detective Inspector McQueen. He is in Malta to set up a detective division in the local police and train local officers in this aspect of police services. Recently a steamship travelling from India to Britain stopped here and one of the stewards was found to have cholera. The first class passengers were put into quarantine, on a small island near Valetta dedicated for this purpose called Manoel Island. When a dead man is found floating in the harbour, with a fatal knife wound, he is soon identified as Buchanan, one of the passengers who should have been in quarantine. McQueen and the police doctor go into quarantine to question the other passengers and because they were both exposed to the body. Buchanan was accompanying a Sikh prince who was raised in England back to England after he was refused entry to India. The prince is an obvious suspect here since he was unhappy with the circumstances. 

Marie Talti is the daughter of the owner of one of the two local papers, a weekly, and she works as both a journalist and editor, actively assisting her father. With limited resources, McQueen asks her to investigate the passengers and their backgrounds for him, and she agrees, hoping this will offer her paper an edge. 

This novel deals with difficult historical events, racial and ethnic prejudice, sexual predation, and gender roles. So there's a lot of interesting plot and characters, and I learned some history I wasn't aware of. 

I picked it up to meet a couple of reading challenges and am glad I did. 

The Shattered Tree

Finished July 5

The Shattered Tree by Charles Todd

This is the eighth book in the Bess Crawford series. Bess is a nursing sister stationed near the front in World War I. As the book opens it is October 1918 and a badly injured man in a tattered French uniform is found in the woods near the front lines. He is brought into Bess's unit, and treated there. When another soldier suddenly attacks him, Bess noted that the French soldier spoke in German as he was attacked. She mentioned this to Matron, but is about to go on leave. 

When Bess returns a couple weeks later, the man has been sent to a hospital further from the lines and she finds out his name, Philippe Moreau. But then Bess herself is injured by a sniper and finds herself at a convalescent hospital in Paris where she is the only female patient. She is still bothered by the discrepancies she noticed about Moreau and tries to learn more about him as she recovers her strength. Even with the help of an American officer that her well-connected father has keeping an eye on her, and the information she gathers from a French nun working as a nurse, she has difficulty learning more about this man, but has seen him in Paris. As she perseveres her investigation, she puts herself and others in danger, but remains led by her intuition that something isn't right about the situation. 

This had an interesting plot and I like this series and main character. Bess is from an upper class family, but isn't afraid of hard work. She is careful who she trusts with what she knows and is very observant.

Every Time We Say Goodbye

Finished June 18

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

This is the third book in the series The Jane Austen Society. It is set mostly in 1954-1955 with flashbacks to a related storyline in 1943. The main character is Vivien Lowry, a British playwrights. She's recently premiered her second play on the London stage, but it wasn't well received by critics. Her contacts, which include several well-known women including Peggy Guggenheim, Daphne du Maurier, and Ava Gardner, arrange a job in Italy for her, working on the script of an American director. Many of those working on the film have left the United States due to the McCarthy investigations, including her fellow writer American Jew Levi Bassano, a young man who served with a Field Photo unit in the U.S. armed forces during World War II. The lead actress in the film is American Claudia Jones, a beautiful biracial woman who passes for white. As she engages with the film community in Rome, we see other real people enter the story, including a young Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, and Gina's husband Milko Skofic. Vivien becomes friends with Claudia, who recently starred in a film as a nun and who is making some life decisions of her own. We also see the strong influence the Vatican had on the film industry at the time. 

Vivien is still coming to terms with the disappearance of her fiancé David, who had been captured by Italian forces during the war and then gone missing. She hopes to be able to gather more information while she is still in Italy. 

An Italian director is looking to do a film about a young woman known only as La Scholaretta, who was a partisan during the war and who was executed for the assassin of a Nazi SS Commander. He also has a personal connection to her story. In the 1943 portion of the plot, we see this young woman in the hours surrounding the assassination and her motivations and actions during this time.

I found it interesting to see how these two plots came together and how the repercussions of the war were still being felt during this time. As part of the series, this book centres women who make their own careers and decisions and who support each other doing so. 

I also enjoyed learning that the author is Canadian. 

Wonderland Creek

Finished June 16

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

This historical novel is set in 1936. Alice Ripley lives with her parents in a suburb of Chicago. Her father is a pastor and while Alice trained as a teacher, she wasn't good at classroom discipline and went into work at her local public library instead. 

As the book begins, Alice's fiancé breaks up with her, which she has a hard time accepting although she honestly doesn't have strong feelings for him. She also loses her job due to funding. When her aunt and uncle take a road trip to a resort, she gets them to drop her and hundreds of books that she collected for a rural library in Kentucky off at that library, arranging for them to pick her up again a week later. But she finds a situation quite different than she expected. The librarian is a man, which she didn't expect since she'd been corresponding with him and assumed the name Leslie was a female one. There isn't room for her to stay anywhere in the small village without putting someone else out of a bed, and Leslie (known as Mack to his friends) is also looking after the dying black woman who raised him.

When Leslie gets shot and badly wounded, Alice finds herself stepping into his shoes as she manages the household, the library, and even takes on duties as one of the Packhorse Librarians working out of the small library. 

I liked how Alice grew from her experiences, but also had an influence on the community through her love of reading and her dedication to literacy. She overcame many of her prejudices and fears and found real relationships among the hill people as she learned about their struggles, include the union movement, the local feud, and secrets kept close. 

Good Taste

Finished June 16

Good Taste: A Novel In Search of Great Food by Caroline Scott

This historical novel takes place beginning in 1932 and follows writer Stella Douglas. Stella recently finished a biography called The Marvellous Mrs. Raffald about a female cookbook writer. It's doing okay, but isn't a best-seller. She has plans for another biography, but when her publisher Mr. Williamson asks her to take on a more broad-ranging project, a history of British food, she feels both honoured and overwhelmed. She isn't sure how to decide what to include and how to treat the inevitable foreign influences that exist in the nation's food traditions. 

She has a budget that allows some travel, but decides to place advertisements in some regional newspapers asking for recipes. Stella's best friend of many years is Michael, a chef in a French restaurant in London. She lived in London until her mother became ill and she moved back to her home village in Yorkshire. She rents a furnished row cottage called Celandine Cottage and visits her father regularly. When she goes up to London, she often stays with Michael and spends time with him and their mutual friend Lucien, a Frenchman who has unrequited feelings for Michael. 

When Stella's car breaks down on one of her information gathering trips, she is rescued by antique dealer Freddie, and he soon insinuates himself into her life. As she finds his influence affecting her choices, she starts to question herself and decide what she is comfortable with as a writer. 

This is a book that raises a number of things to think about. These include what real friendships look like, the fear of other cultures, anti-immigrant mindsets, and how to move forward from grief. It gave me a lot to think about and was relatable to things happening in the world today. 

I loved the discussions around food and folklore. The inclusion of diary entries and letters responding to Stella's ads gave another layer to the writing. 

Scott was inspired by the real life Florence White, author of Good Things in England, which was published in 1932. White is considered the first female freelance food journalist in England. 

A Rain of Thorns

Finished June 7

A Rain of Thorns by Jennifer Grayson

This novella is the first of a series of books called The Heart of the Savage. Mattie is a young woman whose mother died when she was an infant. Her father brought her up to be the son he didn't have, and she did ranch work and went on cattle drives. As the book begins, her father and her along with three men, Pete Winslow, a teen similar in age to her; Henry Finch, an man older than her father; and Charlie Rose, a quiet man returned from war. Their first night they are ambushed by cattle rustlers led by a man called Clay. The rustlers dealt with the men in a variety of ways and took Mattie with them. Clay intends to have his way with her, but Mattie won't go easily. 

Shortly after, a group of Texas Rangers come in and ensure Clay is dealt with. Mattie's father is thankful to their leader Franklin Cole, but Mattie doesn't like him, or respect him. When she finds herself married to him, she puts up with it, but over time, she finds herself thinking about leaving. 

The story doesn't wrap things up, but leads to the next novella in the series. 

Mattie is capable and observant, and knows her own mind. She doesn't like dishonesty whatever the reason, and I would find it interesting to follow her life. 

The Woman with Two Shadows

Finished June 6

The Woman with Two Shadows by Sarah James

This historical novel is set over a few months from 1944 to 1945. Twin sisters Lillian and Eleanor live in New York City with their mother. Their father killed himself when they were very young and their mother has struggled mentally since then. Lillian has taken on the role of head of the family and is a physics student at Columbia University. She has plans to take the test for the Allerton Prize which gives the winner a scholarship to Harvard University where she wants to do her masters degree. This plan depends on Eleanor staying home to live with their mother and care for her. 

Eleanor is an actress, getting roles on Broadway, but she is applying for a part in a new Rodgers and Hammerstein play which will open in Chicago and tour. Eleanor is good at what she does, but this role worries Lillian and she makes some choices that impact both their lives. 

The military has come to the university recently and recruited physics students for a project at a site near Knoxville, Tennessee. The place is called Oak Ridges and since the students find that their deferral is no longer valid, some choose to go rather than enlist. One of them is Max Medelson, and he is not only a fellow student of Lillian's but also the boyfriend of her sister Eleanor. He also claims to be able to tell them apart, when most people cannot. Eleanor changes her plans and decides to go with Max. She gets a job there as well. 

All of these we learn as backstory. Eleanor hasn't written home since she left, and now Max has contacted Lillian with the news that Eleanor is missing and he wants her help. When Lillian gets to Knoxville, she finds things aren't what she expected and she takes on Eleanor's identity to see what she can learn. With tales of others going missing, secret projects that Lillian finds herself getting involved in, and a complicated romance, there is a lot going on.

This novel raises issues of sibling rivalry, what one is willing to do to get what one wants, and the costs that are found to be beyond enduring. An interesting read. 

The Nature of Fragile Things

Finished May 11

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

In 1905 Sophie Whalen is a young immigrant from Ireland sharing a tenement room in New York City with other young women. She answers an advertisement from a San Francisco man, Martin Hocking, who is looking for a wife and a mother to his young daughter Kat. He sends the money for her to take the train west and marries her the day she arrives, but he doesn't push her to have a physical relationship until she's comfortable. Martin works for an insurance company and travels a lot for his job, sometimes being away multiple days at a time.

There are things that cause Sophie to have questions, but she is also happy to be living in the circumstances she is in now. Martin is very handsome and well off enough to live in a nice neighbourhood and well-equipped home. Why would he have to advertise for a wife? Why is Kat so quiet? Is it just the loss of her mother or are there more reasons? Why doesn't Martin introduce her to any of his work colleagues since that was part of the reason he said he needed a wife? What is going on with the second business line that he is suddenly working with? 

More than a year after she arrived in the city, Belinda Bigelow, a young pregnant woman, appears on her doorstep looking for Martin, hoping he has some information on Belinda's husband, but the women soon learn that the connections are closer than expected. As the two women piece together their stories and Kat's history, and make plans to leave, a massive earthquake takes place. They flee the house together with Kat, first to a temporary hospital, then to a city park filled with other refugees from the quake and subsequent fires. Eventually they make their way to Belinda's home south of the city, but soon learn that Martin has been there since she left. Sophie must return to the city to see if Martin is there, and if not, to file a missing persons report. That and the ongoing police interest in the case cause Sophie to worry about her own secrets that she hoped to leave behind. 

A story of relationships, those that mistreat others in a variety of ways, and what women might do to ensure their own safety and the safety of those they care about.

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons

Finished April 28

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

This debut novel is the first in an historical mystery series, Saffron Everleigh Mysteries, and I love the environment she's built here. The time is 1923 and the place is London. Saffron Everleigh works as a research assistant at University College London. Her late father came from a wealthy family but made a career in botany and she is following in his footsteps. Her grandparents aren't supportive, and her mother is barely scraping by, but Saffron shares a flat with a good friend, and works for a professor, Dr. Maxwell, who is very supportive. She's faced some pushback and some harassment from others in the department, including the chair, but she is good at her science and determined to make her way. 

As the book opens she is about to attend a gala for an upcoming expedition to South America and the Amazon in particular, which her department is participating in. While there she runs into a new professor at the university, Alexander Ashton, overhears some gossipy news about other professors personal and professional activities, and witnesses a possible poisoning. With the victim unconscious in hospital and the police are looking at motives and means, Saffron is aghast when Dr. Maxwell is arrested. She knows he would not have done this, and she is determined to clear his name. She takes risks, from scientific experiments on herself to breaking into gardens and offices. Her knowledge of botany shows here, and Alexander finds himself drawn into helping her as well as drawn into feelings for her. 

This was a great start to this series, which I found both entertaining and interesting. The author brings the time and setting to life, and we get a real sense for Saffron's situation. Her personality really comes through here as well, and we see both strengths and vulnerabilities. I was on her side in every way.

Miss Aldridge Regrets

Finished April 23

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare

This is the first book in an historical mystery series called A Canary Club Mystery. The time is 1936 and Lena Aldridge is singing at a basement club in Soho, London. Lena's father, Alfie, brought her up in the world of music. Alfie was a black piano player from the U.S. who had migrated to England and made a life there. He has died recently and Lena is still grieving.  He never talked about her mother, but because Lena is white passing, she believes that her mother was white. Lena's best friend from childhood, Maggie, is married to Tommy, the owner of the club, but things haven't been going well in their relationship and Tommy has told Maggie he plans to leave her with nothing and marry his current young mistress. 

Recently someone came to blackmail Maggie and gave Tommy incriminating photographs that he can use against Maggie, something she has confessed to Lena about, while also telling her that the photos were a setup. So when Maggie turns up at the club that night, Lena is worried that something bad is going to happen. 

When the evening ends with Tommy dead, she knows she was right and she is placed right in the middle of it all. Earlier that day, a man named Charlie Bacon had appeared at Lena's rooming house, claiming to represent a man named Bennie Walker who had been a friend of her dad's back in the U.S. Lena has never heard her father mention the name, but Bennie apparently feels bad for the falling out between them and has done well, and wants to give Lena a leading role in his new Broadway musical to make amends. Lena isn't sure, but her new circumstances with Tommy's death convince her to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fresh start. 

Much of the book takes place on the Queen Mary, as Lena and Charlie make passage to New York. They are in first class courtesy of Charlie's employer and their seating places them at a table otherwise composed of a wealthy American family and the people that work for them, the Parkers. The patriarch, Francis, is in a wheelchair and obviously unwell. Other family members include his daughter Eliza, her husband Jack, their children Frankie, a young man, and Carrie, a teenager, Francis's nurse Daisy and his attending doctor, Dr. Wilding. 

Out on the deck taking air one evening, Lena encounters black bandleader Will Goodman, and is at first taken aback when he clearly identifies her as mixed race. But she feels a connection and wants someone she can be more herself with, and begins to make friends with him, and join him in below deck socializing. 

When Francis suddenly dies at dinner one night, Lena knows he has died the same way Tommy did, and she worries that someone will connect her to both deaths. As things escalate and she becomes more involved with the family, she begins to think that someone is framing her for the crimes. But why?

I enjoyed this novel, the plot and the main character. Lena hasn't lived an easy life, but she also hasn't taken her life firmly into her own hands even now. The social environment of the time and the place is brought alive, with the elements of class and race. I'd definitely be interested in reading more in the series. 

A Long Petal of the Sea

Finished April 12

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende, translated by Amanda Hopkinson and Nick Caistor

This novel is a fantastic read, with the main events part of real history. Beginning in 1936 in Spain, we are placed amidst the Spanish Civil War., The war is drawing to a close and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians are fleeing to France. One of them is Roser, a young pregnant woman who lover, a soldier, is missing. His brother, Victor Dalmau, a medical school student who is serving as a medic, has arranged for a friend to bring Roser and his mother out of Spain, choosing a Red Cross nurse as a contact point for them to connect through in France. With so many people fleeing it is chaotic and Victor's mother is worried about slowing them down, and Roser and the friend find their way over the mountains into France before becoming separated. 

France is overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of people fleeing Spain, and there are limited opportunities for the many refugees. Roser finds a place to work and live, but it is not a permanent situation. In order to take advantage of getting away from Europe, Victor and Roser marry. By doing so, they gain a spot on the Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. In Chile the small family starts over. Roser begins her career as a pianist supplemented by giving lessons, and Victor re-enrols in medical school while running a Catalan-style pub with a fellow Spanish exile. They always hope to return to Spain one day when Franco is no longer the leader, but the hope grows fainter over time. 

They make good lives there, with Victor working as a respected cardiologist while still showing his penchant for helping those in need, and Roser working with a Venezuelan man to create an international orchestra respected for their use of traditional South American instruments. Roser's child is raised within their strong household love, and their growing love for each other. 

Then they end up living through another upheaval as Chile is taken over by the fascist Pinochet. They realize that Chile is now their home, a land they truly love and feel tied to, and that the love they have built is strong and their son has grown up with their shared values and feeling a true Chilean. 

The real history of the characters' difficult episodes is told well, even to the presence of the author's father in the story. But it is their strong character and how they live their values that is at the centre of the novel and so well told.

I loved the inclusion of Neruda's work at the beginning of every chapter as it really spoke to the time and place. 

A shining example of Allende's writing. 

Ship of Dreams

Finished March 6

Ship of Dreams by Donna Jones Alward

This novel is set mostly aboard the Titanic. Two friends are at the centre of the story. Hannah Martin is married, but has found her husband distant since the miscarriage that almost killed her. She hopes accompanying him on this business trip will provide the opportunity to add life back to their marriage. She has asked her best friend Louisa Phillips, the unhappy and rebellious daughter of an earl, to accompany them. The two women plan to stay in New York City while Charles Martin travels west on business. But Louisa has another purpose to her trip. Her father has decided to force her into a marriage that she does not want. She grew up ignored or a target with him, and things haven't improved. She's directed her energy, and her money, towards fighting for women's rights and helping those less fortunate. But if she doesn't marry as her father wishes, he has told her that he will kick her out of the homes she has been living in, and cut off her money. She has a plan that we gradually learn, but it wasn't well thought out, and doesn't reflect well on her. 

She has also invited a man she's known socially on the trip as a side interest. She likes flirting with him and has led him to believe she might be interested in more. Reid Grey, the man in question has come, solely for her, and is definitely interested in Louisa. The author includes a few of the ship's travellers that were actually on the boat, from the feminist Margaret Brown, to the newly married Astors.

As the women interact socially with their shipmates, they also share the truth about their own lives, which proves emotional and enlightening. 

While Hannah tries to force a confrontation with Charles, Louisa finds that her problem may have an different solution that she hadn't expected. 

Alward has done her research and the descriptions of the ship and its amenities really bring the setting to life. The strong friendship between the two women is tested here, and the crisis of the ship itself changes so many stories. A really great read. 

To Have and To Hoax

Finished February 15

To Have and To Hoax by Martha Waters

This Regency romance is the first in a series called The Regency Vows. I've read others in the series and enjoyed them: To Marry and To Meddle (#3) and To Swoon and to Spar (#4). The series is set around a group of young upperclass adults in Regency England, many titled. 

Here, we have Lady Violet Grey, who married Lord James Audley five years earlier, and we see how they met and came to marry in the early part of this novel. Their first year together was passionate and tumultuous as they fought and made up multiple times, but when a secret about how they met is exposed, the fight became a rupture, and the two have not been intimate since. 

One of the issues was a gift that James' father made to him upon his marriage of a country estate that is also a centre for horse breeding. James was determined to make a success of it, and he claimed it was for Violet, but she worried constantly about the risks he took riding untrained horses and about the time he spent on paperwork. She sees that he is trying to prove to his father that he runs the estate better than his father did. 

Now, she is having tea with two of her good friends when she gets an urgent message from one of her husband's friends (a man who is also the brother of one of her friends) telling her that James has fallen from a horse and is unconscious and possibly badly injured. Violet immediately takes action, taking her carriage out to the estate, but she meets her husband, much recovered, and his friends on their way back to London and is infuriated that she wasn't sent an updated message. 

James hadn't realized that a message had been sent, and his friend had forgotten, but the damage is done, and Violet is determined to get revenge. She decides to fake an illness, but she must find someone willing to act as a doctor to back her up, and things start to get very messy. 

Violet and James have a mutual attraction that has not gone away, and both have remained loyal to each other despite their emotional distancing. As each realizes what the other knows about Violet's plan, they do interact more and fight more, but the also notice the attraction. Instead of talking to each other about the reasons for their estrangement, they each take further action, until talking becomes very necessary. 

A fun read. 

The Deep

Finished February 14

The Deep by Mary Swan

This novella was originally published as a short story that won the O. Henry Prize, and is told through a series of short chapters that have a variety of narrators. The central characters are twin sisters, Esther and Ruth, who leave their North American home to volunteer in Europe during World War I. The narrators include teachers, school friends, family members, and acquaintances. 

The twins, throughout their lives referred to themselves as one, always saying 'we' and acting and speaking together. Their birth had a detrimental effect on the health of their mother, and although she lived for several years beyond the birth, she was confined to bed, and there is a sense that the twins are blamed for this by both their father and their older brothers, but more so their older brothers. 

As the war ends, and the women prepare to leave France, there is a situation where they acted as separate individuals, with both recognizing that and being unsure how to deal with it. It is obviously disturbing to both of them, and we see their actions following this. 

When We Were Young and Brave

Finished February 11

When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor

This historical fiction novel was inspired by real events. The story is framed by one of the narrators, Nancy, looking back at this time from 1975. Near the end of the book, the framing is completed with a more full explanation of what happened to the various characters after their time in China ended. 

The main story begins in December 1941, with Elspeth Kent, one of the teachers at the Chefoo Mission School considering resigning and returning to her home in England. She came to China after her fiancé was killed in a mining accident and she couldn't see how to move on there without him. But her plans are thwarted with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and their declaration of war against the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Allied countries. 

Among the students at the school is Nancy Plummer, along with her older brother, and Nancy's friends who include an American girl named Dorothy (nicknamed Sprout as she is tall and thin) and Joan (nicknamed Mouse because she is small and quiet). The girls are part of a Brownie troop and studying to move up to Girl Guides. Elspeth and another teacher, Minnie, lead the girls in this endeavour. 

When the Japanese arrive to occupy the school, the headmaster is taken away, the Chinese servants are sent away, and the soldiers label everything the property of the Japanese emperor. When Minnie tries to make a stand, she is beaten with a pole by one of the soldiers, and Elspeth tries to intervene drawing attention to herself. We watch as the situation evolves over the years. 

Without the servants, the teachers and students must cook and clean and the teachers try to manage morale. Elspeth and Minnie use the Girl Guide teachings and badge earning to get the girls to work and treat the situation optimistically. After a year, the group is moved across town to another school, which has been abandoned for some time. There, they have to make the spaces they are billeted in liveable, and consider safety and continue teaching. The headmaster is back by now and is a great leader in this and the future situations. 

When they are moved again, it is farther away, to an internment camp near Weihsien, where they are the most recent additions. They find support from some of the other prisoners, who have organized a library, and a system of work responsibilities. 

With two narrators, Elspeth and Nancy, we get different viewpoints from different levels of understanding the situation. The author did a lot of research, trying to talk to survivors from Japanese prisoners and using real examples, such as the presence of the Olympic runner Eric Liddell in the camp. 

I found the story interesting and believable and liked the nuances of the people, with both bad and good people among their Japanese captors. I also enjoyed the use of the Girl Guide training and expectations to motivate the young girls and keep up their morale.  

The Fiercest Joy

Finished February 9

The Fiercest Joy by Shana Abé

This is the third novel in The Sweetest Dark, a historical fantasy series. I also noted that it tied in with the Drákon series by the same author, in an interesting way. 

Eleanore (Lora) Jones is in her final year as a scholarship student at the prestigious Iverson School for girls, and torn between two drákon men she loves, brothers Aubrey and Armand. This year there is also another scholarship girl at the school, and it would appear that she is a drákon as well, going under the name Smith. She cannot apparently turn into a dragon, but she has other skills. The three can't help wonder what she is doing there and whether she is putting them at risk. 

When Lora gives into her intuition one night and engages in a coastal battle, she encounters another dragon, and feels threatened by his presence. 

Soon after that two drakon people, brother and sister, arrive at the school, claiming to have been searching for Eleanore for years. They intend to take her to join her family. But Eleanore is still unsure and since she is now engaged, she insists that her fiancé come as well. 

Meanwhile Aubrey is researching Lora's past with a clue from a memory of hers, by searching for ship passenger lists near the time of her birth. He and Armand have also shared historical letters regarding their family with both her and Miss Smith. 

This tale has lots of dramatic moments and suspense as well as moments of strong emotion. It wraps up this series nicely, while still offering possibilities for future books.