She can’t even dye her hair when it starts to turn gray. Lydia has no money or property, and can’t have a career. And, as a wife, her husband has rejected her, giving her no prospect of enjoying sexual pleasure again, without risking her way of life. As a mother of a certain class, her babies have been taken from her at birth, her breastfeeding discouraged, and her teenage daughters entrusted to the care of another (Branwell’s sister Anne). As a woman, her education has been limited, designed only to give her the requisite accomplishments to land a man. Trapped in a loveless marriage, with no access to divorce, my protagonist Lydia is more privileged than many Victorian women, but still, essentially, powerless. My book is fiction, but it’s based on the true story of an older (read: 43-year-old) woman who had an affair with Branwell Bronte, the Bronte sisters’ (then 25-year-old) brother. It’s all I can do not to laugh.īy this point, they’ve usually read my novel, Bronte’s Mistress, or, at least, listened to me talk about it for the best part of an hour. “Would you like to have lived in the nineteenth century?” people ask me, their voices crackling over the poor Zoom connection. As a writer of historical fiction, there’s one in particular that gets me every single time. If you ever write a book, you’ll get used to answering silly questions. This Valentine’s Day, be glad you don’t live in the times of Bridgerton …
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7/6/2023 0 Comments Blind Side by Kandi SteinerIt was on the most beautiful day that I fell victim to Clay Johnson’s post-breakup meltdown. ****Blind Side is a fake dating college sports romance with "lessons" and opposites attract. They probably should have added that hearts are, too. But they say rules are meant to be broken. So, to sweeten the deal, I convince him to help me - not just to get my crush’s attention, but to knock his socks off once I have it.īut the more I come unraveled at the hands of Clay Johnson, the more trouble I have discerning what’s fake and what’s undoubtedly real - particularly, the way my heart flutters every time that breathtaking man touches me. What he doesn’t realize is that this bookworm is a virgin, and far from versed in seducing a musician. All by pretending to be in a relationship. But when he witnesses how I fall to pieces in front of my guitar-toting crush, his wheels start turning. We meet to discuss his behavior and review media relations standards. He used to be the easiest of all the players for me to wrangle as the Public Relations Coordinator, but after a nasty breakup with his high school sweetheart, he’s a mess. There’s hardly a day he’s not headline material during football season, and never a day he isn’t a bullseye target for every girl on campus. The hottest college football safety in the nation just asked me to be his fake girlfriend.Īnd I just asked him to take my virginity.Ĭlay Johnson has the abs of Adonis and the deadly smirk of the devil, himself. 7/6/2023 0 Comments Blight frederick douglassAfter the war he sometimes argued politically with younger African Americans, but he never forsook either the Republican party or the cause of black civil and political rights. In his unique and eloquent voice, written and spoken, Douglass was a fierce critic of the United States as well as a radical patriot. By the Civil War, Douglass had become the most famed and widely travelled orator in the nation. Initially mentored by William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass spoke widely, using his own story to condemn slavery. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence he bore witness to the brutality of slavery. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. “Extraordinary…a great American biography” ( The New Yorker) of the most important African-American of the nineteenth century: Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave who became the greatest orator of his day and one of the leading abolitionists and writers of the era.Īs a young man Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. **Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History** 7/6/2023 0 Comments Perfected by kate jarvik birchTo set us free, wrapped in a glamorous-and dangerous-bow. It means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love Leaving…and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse thanįor fans of Kiera Cass’ Selection series and LaurenĭeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what When Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurkingīeneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice.īecause the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is Knows…and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating. Falling for him goes against every rule she He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfectĮxterior to the girl within. Happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly youngĭaughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and Masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury. Trained from birth to be graceful,ĭemure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their Genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to Soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be 7/6/2023 0 Comments Eleanor i parkShe didn’t say anything – thank God, she didn’t thank him – and she left six inches of space on the seat between them. On her first day in school, no one wants to let Eleanor sit next to them on the bus so Park, a good kid at heart and half-reject himself on account of being half-Korean, moves over and orders her to sit down: In Eleanor’s case, however, it is the result of not having any clothes that don’t come from Goodwill, or they are hand-me-downs full of holes she must cover up with patches of fabric or safety pins or whatever else she can find. She wears bizarre clothes that might indicate a punk or rebellious stance if worn by another kid. She has mounds of curly red hair and she is not thin. Rather, it alternates as the need arises, so sometimes it is by chapter, sometimes by paragraph.Įleanor is the new girl in school, and she looks unconventional enough to make her the immediate butt of jokes and bullying. The story moves back and forth in point of view between Park Sheridan and Eleanor Douglas, but doesn’t alternate regularly. It’s a coming-of-age book about two very brave sixteen-year-old teens in 1986 near Omaha, Nebraska. Through further schemes masterminded by Iago, Othello becomes convinced of his wife’s assumed infidelity with Cassio. Rodrigo has paid Iago to spy on Othello to denigrate his reputation and break up the couple. The story begins with an argument between Iago and Rodrigo who is a wealthy Venetian and secretly in love with Desdemona, Othello’s young and beautiful wife. He is angry with Othello for promoting Cassio as a lieutenant instead of himself. Cassio is an honorable soldier under Othello. Othello is a Moor and a general in the Venetian army. To prepare myself for this event, I read this book. I had enjoyed reading the book Romeo and Julia from Shakespeare in the past and expected I would like this famous early 17th century play. Several editors are listed.Įarly 2005, it was decided that my family and I would attend a performance of Othello by the Actors from the London stage in South Bend, Indiana, USA. The book contains character description, footnotes and easy to read translation into modern English. Publisher: Spark Publishing, New York, 2003 Frodo recuperates from a wound and he is healed by Elrond. Later, they meet Strider/Aragorn and they continue safely to the country of the elves. They meet a fellow named Tom Bombadil who helps them get out of trouble when they are faced with the Nine Black Riders. The wizard, Gandalf, warns Frodo that he should leave the shire and keep the ring out of Sauron’s hands. He knows very little about this ring and how important it is for him to keep safe until he gets rid of it or someone else does. In this epic drama, Frodo Baggins ends up with the ring because Bilbo had stolen it from Gollum (a creature). There’s an evil force lurking over Middle Earth-the Dark Lord Sauron wants to reclaim his lost power and enslave everyone with it through the One Ring that he has already lost once before. This story takes place in Middle Earth, which was created by J.R.R Tolkien. The Fellowship of the Ring is a book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 1-Page Summary of The Lord of the Rings Overview 7/5/2023 0 Comments Any way the wind blows bookAnd in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong. In Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell's epic fantasy, the Simon Snow trilogy, concludes with Any Way the Wind Blows. Morton's exceptional talent shines as he modulates between European and American accents and seamlessly shifts tones to bring each distinct character to life.Full of intense passion, this conclusion should not be missed." - AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner "Euan Morton returns to narrate the final installment in the Simon Snow series. The author’s analyses of his subject’s intellectual and literary growth are especially admirable. These include the Great Migration of African Americans out of the rural South, housing crises in urban centers such as Chicago, intensifying civil rights battles on a variety of fronts, acute concerns over nuclear proliferation, and the appeal of the Communist Party for America’s disenfranchised. Shields, author of biographies of Kurt Vonnegut and Harper Lee, deftly sets the particularities of Hansberry’s life against a backdrop of relevant themes. Acclaimed biographer Shields explores the life and work of one of the most celebrated American playwrights of the 20th century.ĭrawing on meticulously researched sources, including previously unpublished interviews and private correspondence, Shields offers an illuminating portrait of Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) and her tragically brief but formidable career. 7/5/2023 0 Comments The art of being normal bookWhile his friends are all making out, or so he imagines, David reflects that he has never had a girl- or boyfriend, never kissed, never even held hands. During those rare moments when he is left alone in the house, he dresses up as a girl before wiping away the makeup and feeling like a stranger in his own body once more. David measures himself obsessively, is dismayed at the thought of stubble and covets his mother’s curves. Time is against him as a rising tide of testosterone elongates his skinny frame, lengthens his penis, makes his pale, blue-veined feet ugly and huge (“Kate Winslet is a size nine” offers his friend Felix encouragingly). Biology is sabotaging his longing to be petite and feminine. It is David’s isolation and quiet desperation that Williamson captures so well. Picturing their disappointment and distress, David cannot bring himself to confide in them. David has loving middle-class parents who suspect that all is not well with their son. The popular kids, in particular, show no compassion. With the exception of best friends Zoe and Felix, David’s fellow pupils display a predictable lack of understanding. |