Recent Reads {Beloved Castaway}

Beloved Castaway by Kathleen Y'Barbo - I bought this book ages ago, basically because it looked kind of pirate-y and the price was right.  For whatever reason, it took me until my vacation a couple weeks ago to read it.  I was surprised at how good it was!  Honestly, I was sort of expecting a cheap, formula "Christian romance" which just happens to involve a ship's captain.  The story is actually more complex than that, with some intriguing twists and turns, despite the fact that it's obvious from the very first that the two main characters will fall in love.  That part, at least, sticks with the formula.  Isabelle Gayarre is desperate to escape from New Orleans and slavery, hoping to reach abolitionists in England.  She must trust Josiah Carter, a ship's captain, to help her get away, even though what she's heard about him doesn't inspire trust at all.  Some improbable coincidences, extenuating circumstances, and tragedies along the way conspire to thrown them together, and to learn to trust God as well.  It's hardly a spoiler to say that it is a happy ending, although how it all works out makes for a pretty good read.

Recent Reads {The Romance of Tristan}

The Romance of Tristan by Beroul, and The Tale of Tristan's Madness, translated together by Alan S. Fedrick - It seems to me that the Tristan and Isolde stories vary so widely that it's hard to believe any of them come from a common source.  I was looking for a version of the story that was suitable for kids and never did find it, but I did pick up this translation of a very old written source.  Beroul's epic poem - or, the portions that remain of it - is thought to be the oldest extant version of the Tristan and Isolde narrative, and it is translated into English prose by Alan S. Fedrick.  There are amusing and odd details throughout, and the story is quite a bit different from the Avalon novels I read recently, and different from almost any popular version I've ever heard.  The story-telling style is also a departure from what modern readers are used to, but Fedrick's introduction does a fair job of explaining how troubadour or jongleur stories were commonly told and how the tales may have developed before and after the time of Beroul.  Of Beroul himself, nothing is known, except that his poem dates from about the middle of the twelfth century.

The introduction is more detailed reading than the stories themselves, but I do recommend it for background.  The opening and closing sections of Beroul are lost, so this book offers a summary based on a reconstructed narrative from another scholar.  The translation of Beroul's work begins with The Tryst Under the Tree, and from that point it reads like a simple chapter book, although not all of it is suitable for children.  I found it a quick and interesting read - almost like a cheap romance from medieval times.

Recent Reads {Mozart: His Life and Music}

Mozart - His Life & Music by Jeremy Siepmann -  We recently studied (briefly!) Mozart in our homeschool, and I was disappointed that I was unable to get my hands on biography books suitable for the kids on time.  In my library search, I found this biography geared for adults and decided it looked interesting.  I was impressed with how very readable it was! Not at all a dry biography, but a very interesting survey of Mozart's life and times, with alternating chapters focusing on life and career events and on the music.  Mozart's own letters and writings of his contemporaries are quoted often.  The chapters entitled "Interludes" which describe the music are detailed enough for music students, with numerous insights into the influences and nuances of the compositions, yet I don't think they are too technical for a reader who has not studied music.  In any case, there is a glossary of music terms at the back of the book to help out!  There are two CDs of music included with the book, and any time a specific composition included on the CD was mentioned in the text, there was a convenient sidebar giving the track number.  I read the book while on vacation and without a CD player, so I wasn't able to listen as I read, but I would have loved to!  I will be listening before I return this to the library, and I've already ordered the book about Beethoven to read next.

Recent Reads {Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt}

Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley - I decided to read this biography because I'd recently read a couple of novels set in Cleopatra's Egypt and was curious as to how accurate some of the fictional portrayals of the queen, her court, and her city were.  While the book was definitely interesting and went into great detail separating the myth from the facts about Cleopatra, it is not exactly light reading and is probably more "scholarly" than would appeal to the casual reader.  Much of what most of us think we know about Cleopatra has been influenced by the popular movie portrayals so our concepts of what she looked like and how she behaved have been modernized and shaped by Hollywood to a greater extent than we are aware of!  Tyldesley gives a great deal of background on Egypt under the Ptolomaic dynasty, and explains the culture and politics and many other details exceptionally well.  One thing I found confusing at times was that the book was arranged more topically than chronologically.  However, I learned much that was new to me and very interesting.

Recent Reads {Sunrise of Avalon}

Sunrise of Avalon by Anna Elliott - This novel of Trystan and Isolde completes the trilogy by Anna Elliott.  Elliott retells the legend with a few twists, combining the Arthurian legend with the historical setting of sixth-century Britain.  The story picks up where the second novel ended - Trystan and Isolde have married, a secret which very few people know, and she is pregnant - which only she knows.  Trystan has been called away in the ongoing tribal wars in the country.  The storyline is full of intrigue and danger - personal danger to the lovers, and an imminent threat to Britain as the Saxon invaders seem to gaining strength and the alliance of Briton kings is tenuous.  Elliott based her retelling of the legend on the earliest written version of the Arthurian tales and gives the whole a satisfying ending.

By the same author:  Twilight of Avalon, Dark Moon of Avalon

Recent Reads {In the Shadow of the Sun King}

In the Shadow of the Sun King by Golden Keyes Parsons - What caught my attention initially was that this novel is based on the family history of the author.  I was definitely intrigued, and throughout the book found myself wondering how much was indeed fact, and how much was embellished to create this story.  It takes place in seventeenth century France, during the reign of Louis XIV.  It was a time when the Huguenots (Protestants) were being persecuted despite the Edict of Nantes which was supposed to protect them.  Madeleine Clavell and her family are Huguenots, but she also has a past relationship with Louis, and when French dragoons show up at her family estate and threaten their safety and their very lives, Madeleine makes the decision to travel to Versailles to plead personally with Louis for her family.  The story is gripping and intense, and highlights the faith and sacrifice of the Protestants during this time.  I highly recommend it to readers who like historical fiction.

Recent Reads {The Deception at Lyme}

The Deception at Lyme (Or, the Peril of Persuasion by Carrie Bebris - At last, the newest Mr & Mrs Darcy Mystery arrived on my bookshelf!  I've been anxiously awaiting Carrie Bebris' latest addition to the series for months now.  Darcy and Elizabeth take a seaside vacation to Lyme accompanied by their little daughter, and Darcy's sister Georgiana.  Not long after arriving, they are on the Cobb (the seawall, where there are walkways) and find a woman who has suffered an unfortunate and possibly fatal fall and do their best to get her to safety and help.  And the question arises - was the fall an accident, or was she pushed?  The assistance rendered by the Darcys brings them in contact with many of the characters of Jane Austen's Persuasion:  the Harvilles, the Elliotts, and the newlywed Wentworths (Captain Frederick Wentworth and Anne Elliott) and their connection with the victim of the accident.  At the same time, the Darcys have business in Lyme as well as vacationing.  Mr Darcy is meeting with a naval officer to collect the personal effects of his cousin who died in naval action a few years earlier.  The contents of this cousin's seachest and diary raise more questions and mysteries, and the realization that the events may be connected in some way.  The Darcys seek assistance from the Wentworths in their enquiries, and find that not everyone is what they appear.

I found the first couple of chapters difficult to get absorbed in, possibly because there is so much description of the physical surroundings at Lyme.  Readers of Austen know that she rarely gave much descriptive detail in terms of what people or places looked like.  However, the layout of the Cobb (which is a real location in the very real setting of Lyme) is important in the plot, so once I was past all the initial descriptions, I was involved in the story and wondering at possible connections, motives, and explanations along with the Darcys.  There is a lot going on, and the pace is swift, but it's a great mystery and I especially enjoyed catching up with the Wentworths again!  I'm a little concerned that this will be the last Mr & Mrs Darcy Mystery from Bebris, since she has set one within each of Austen's novel settings now, and the Epilogue to this one seemed to wrap things up rather tidily.  There is just a hint that the adventures will continue, and I certainly hope they do, as this has become a favorite fan fiction series of mine.

By the same author:  The Intrigue at Highbury,  The Matters at Mansfield, North by Northanger, Suspense and Sensibility, Pride and Prescience.