The Madwoman Upstairs

Finished March 18
The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell

This novel imagines a young woman, Samantha Whipple, as the last remaining descendant of the Bronte family (from a sibling of the writers' father). Her father died tragically in a fire when she was only fifteen. She is now twenty and studying English Literature at Old College at Oxford University. She is surprised on being shown her lodgings, located in a room up five flights of stairs, at the top of a tower. She has to go all the way down to a washroom, and the room is dank, windowless, and with no source of heat. It had originally (in 1361) been used to quarantine victims of the plague.
Samantha is assigned a young, brilliant professor for her tutorials, Dr. James Timothy Orville III. Their first meeting doesn't go well, and Samantha is unexpectedly upset. She has always received high praise for her work, but Orville doesn't seem to think much of her writing skills.
She is also under pressure to meet a London lawyer about her father's estate, and while she delays that meeting as long as she can, she finds that she must find out what her father left her. When she does so, she finds herself reminded of a long ago gift from her dad, that sent her on a literary scavenger hunt following clues to the true present. Is this what she must do now? And if so, who is to be her guide? And what did her father mean when he told her years ago that she would inherit the Warnings of Experience?
As Samantha meets various other players, from Hans, a Swedish student who seems awfully interested in her; to John Booker, a Bronte scholar who believes her father was in possession of many valuable artifacts of the family, she tries to figure out who she can trust with the many questions she has.
Samantha is still hoping for a connection to her dead father, and trying to forge some sort of relationship with her mother, who left when she was young. She is suspicious of ulterior motives with those that offer friendship due to her family name. She is in a new environment, and feeling very much alone. As she gradually learns more about her father, and about herself, she must also find a way to move forward with her life for herself.
I found the connection to the Brontes interesting, and the way their novels and lives became part of the plot intriguing.

Oxford Double

Finished September 30
Oxford Double by Veronica Stallwood

I've read these completely out of order, but that is mostly okay. This is #9 in the series featuring writer Kate Ivory, and begins as Kate has come back to live in her own house after a short period of cohabitation with a man named George. Her mother Roz had lived in her house for the duration, but has now moved into her own home. Kate is on the plane returning from a short vacation in France and as she waits to get off, notices the man in front of her is wearing a wig and gloves. She is after all a person who notices things, part of her vocation as a writer.
No sooner has she arrived home than the new (to her) neighbours next door, the Fosters, invite her over for drinks later that evening. They are kind, but effusive, gossipy and bossy and Kate likes them but know she must set some limitations to keep her privacy. They also invite the neighbour on the other side of Kate, Jeremy Wells, a lecturer at an Oxford college. He seems nice enough, but a bit shy and Kate makes her escape as early as she can manage.
As she begins work on her new novel, she finds the Fosters noise somewhat distracting and resorts to earplugs and music on headphones during her work stints. As she comes out of her office one day, she is horrified and surprised to discover that the Fosters have been shot in what appears to be a contract killing. Kate's admittedly small knowledge of them doesn't see what such a thing should be, and when Jeremy comes to her looking for help in lying low, she isn't sure what to think.
Kate's natural curiosity drives her to find answers to her questions and it doesn't occur to her that she may be putting her own life in danger through her delving.
Not one of my favourites in this series, but a good story still.

Oxford Knot

Finished September 26
Oxford Knot by Veronica Stallwood

This is the second time I've read this book (the first was quite a few years ago) and I'd forgotten enough of the details to come to it fairly fresh.
This is part of the series featuring writer Kate Ivory, and here Kate is approached at the last minute to be part of an author tour. She is paired with historical bodice-ripper author Devlin Hayle, who provides lots of entertainment and a fair bit of worry. Devlin has many issues, and unrealistic expectations, causing embarrassment and evasive action.
Kate's librarian friend Andrew has been spending a lot of time at her house trying new recipes and assisting in the development of Kate's young neighbour Harley. Also assisting with Harley's education is Kate's friend Paul. The two men agree to look after her house, the animals and Harley while she is off on tour. But something terrible happens and Kate is forced to return home to deal with the unexpected tragedy and try to figure out why it happened.
With lots of intrigue, uncertainty and a fair bit of humour, Kate steps up to the challenges and faces her fans with equilibrium.

Easter Weekend Reading

While I took time away from the computer this past weekend (except for Saturday at work) and read, did needlework and relaxed.
I managed to finish 3 books and work on a couple of different needlework projects.

Finished April 22
The Big House: a century in the life of an American summer home by George Howe Colt
This is a book I picked up last summer out on Vancouver Island. It was recommended by one of the staff at Tanner's in Sidney. Colt tells the story of a summer home on Cape Cod that was built in 1903 and that he spent summers at regularly all his life. Not only is it the story of an interesting house, but it is also a social history of summer homes on the Cape and a family history. Colt talks about the last summer he spent at the house with his wife and young children, and reminisces about the time he spent as a child. He also delves back further into the lives of his grandparents and great grandparents. Also included are aunts, uncles and cousins. He talks about the family secrets, including mental illness, and about the summer family relationship with the locals. This is an interesting book, that I thoroughly enjoyed. It made me want to explore and pick through all the things in the Big House, to see what interesting things came to light. It also reminded me of the farmhouse I spent some of my summer vacation at for most of my childhood, a house that my grandparents lived in.

Finished April 24 
Oxford Letters by Veronica Stallwood
This is one of the books in the series featuring writer Kate Ivory. My mother-in-law picked this up at a library sale for me. I love this series, set in Oxford and featuring the inquisitive writer. Here, Kate returns from vacation to find that her mother, Roz, is ill, and has a middle-aged married couple who appear to have taken control of Roz's life. Both Kate and her mother's business partner are concerned, and Kate begins to dig deeper into this couple's history. There are warning letters and emails, violence, intrigue and second guessing around a really good story. An interesting side story to do with Roz's history also makes an appearance. And of course Kate's love life moves forward. A great read, as expected.


Finished April 24
Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham
This is a classic that I had never read, but that was recommended in the book, Book Ends, which I finished recently. It also counts toward my 1001 Books to Read Before You Die challenge. It took about half the book to really get into it. In the first half I was a bit put off by the biting wit that seemed mean-spirited, about some of the writer characters. However the delving of the main character into his past and a woman that he knew in his youth, the wife of a famous writer, made the book come alive. Rosie's character came to life here as a wonderfully engaging, life-loving woman. Her husband Edward Driffield also was shown as more than that described directly. We see how the various people in an author's life have influence on their writings. Apparently this novel caused quite a commotion at the time, with various people taking offense at the portrayal of characters they saw as based on themselves. A very interesting read and I'm glad I took the time.

Intellectual Mystery

Finished December 14
The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez
The narrator of this mystery is a young mathematician from Argentina who has come to study at Oxford. Shortly after his arrival he is one of the two people to discover his elderly landlady dead. There is an odd clue that was left in a note to another mathematician, who was a friend, with a cryptic symbol and the words 'the first in the series'.
As he and the older mathematics professor, Seldom, try to work out the series before it takes place, the young student also tries to look at other aspects of the case.
A knowledge of mathematics is not necessary to appreciate the nuances of this mystery, as we slowly work with the student toward the solution.