Recent Reads {King Alfred's English}

King Alfred's English (A History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do) by Laurie J White - I can't say enough about how entertaining AND educational this book is!  It was reviewed by the Schoolhouse Review Crew in the summer, and although I wasn't chosen to receive it for the review, I bought it right away.  (Please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew post King Alfred's English and visit links to the detailed reviews posted by Crew members.)  I was going to read it immediately, but always had other things going on, and I wanted to read the whole thing at one time.  So although I skimmed through it, I didn't read it cover to cover until this past week. 

Author Laurie J White has been an English and History teacher and homeschooled her own children.  Her love of the history of the English language began when she took a course in college.  She wrote this book as a fun and engaging guide to history, linguistics, and English literature, and the history of the English Bible; and it's geared to students in grades 7 through 12 or interested adults.  The book itself is a tour through the history of Britain and how each wave of invasion, immigration, alliance, invention, and religious movement affected the development of the English language.  It makes for fast-paced and entertaining reading, written in a conversational and often humorous style.  She includes stories of several English authors whose writings greatly influenced the development of our English language, and explains why and how the English Bible had a huge impact on the language.  There are also sections about linguistics and word histories, showing how words have morphed and changed over time, and how grammar has shifted and simplified.  

Free supplemental materials for students are available at the author's website, The Shorter Word, and by using them, this book can become the basis of a half-credit history course for high schoolers, or a combined 1/4 credit history and 1/4 credit English course.

I enjoyed the book from beginning to end, and I know it's one I will re-read.  I have been looking at the supplemental materials just for my own interest, and I am pretty sure this will find a place in our homeschool curriculum in years to come.

Recent Reads {Sarai: A Novel}

Sarai: A Novel by Jill Eileen Smith - The Biblical story of Abraham and Sarah is well-known, but to our western and 'modern' way of thinking, many parts of it are hard to understand.  Sarai doesn't always seem like such a great role model - it's her idea to give her maid to Abram in order to get her pregnant, then she blames Abram when that's what happens; for example - yet throughout the New Testament she is honored as an example of a godly wife and a woman of faith.  This novel imagines some of the background and the details of Sarai's story that give insight into the culture of the times and the possible reasoning behind some of the actions and attitudes that we find difficult to relate to.  I found this an enjoyable read right from the beginning, as Smith combines solid research and compelling story-telling to make Sarai come alive as a real woman who struggled with insecurity, fear, vanity, jealousy, and faith.  And the story remains faithful to the Biblical account - yes, I did check a few details!

Recent Reads {Veil of Pearls}

Veil of Pearls by MaryLu Tyndall - I'm not sure how this book initially escaped my notice, because I've  been interested in Tyndall's novels since I first discovered her.  To me, the appeal in her novels is that they usually involve pirates or sailing ships somehow.  This one, set in 1811, is no exception, although the sailing plays a smaller role in the story.  The main character is Adalia, a young woman who manages to escape slavery in Barbados and is trying to build a new life in Charleston.  Adalia has changed her name and says as little as possible about her past, hoping that with her light skin color, no one will realize that she is part black and was a slave.  Working as an assistant to a kindly but prejudiced doctor, she is noticed by the second son of a prominent society family, Morgan Rutledge.  Morgan pursues Adalia, despite knowing she is a commoner and how his own family and society reacts.  Adalia initially rejects his advances, but as she gets to know him, she develops feelings for him, and is caught up in the glamour and excitement of moving in society.  How long can she keep her past a secret, and how much will she compromise in order to win him?  How much of his wealth and position is he willing to sacrifice to be with her?

The story keeps an exciting pace, and builds plenty of tension as Adalia's rivals try to uncover enough of her past to drive her and Morgan apart, which may also send her back into slavery.  As with Tyndall's other novels, many of the circumstances stretch belief and are rather improbable, but the settings are vivid and it's easy to get drawn in and be sympathetic with the main characters.

By the same author: Surrender the Dawn, Surrender the Night, Surrender the Heart, The Falcon and the Sparrow, Charles Towne Belle Series (The Red Siren, The Blue Enchantress, The Raven Saint), The Legacy of the King's Pirates series (The Redemption, The Reliance, The Restitution)

Recent Reads {Death in the Floating City}

Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander - I have read - and loved! - all the previous Lady Emily Mystery series, and had been eagerly awaiting the next installment.  This has been out for a couple of months and I'd missed it!  Lady Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, are called upon to assist an old acquaintance of Emily's in the city of Venice.  Emma and Emily were not ever close friends, but when Emma's father-in-law is found murdered and her husband disappears, she calls Emily and Colin to lead the investigation.  A fifteenth-century ring and page of manuscript are found on the body, which are clues to a centuries-old love affair gone horribly wrong and to the motive behind the murder.  Emily makes a new friend, Donata, who is by her side through much of the adventure, as they try to piece together story of an ancient feud and lovers kept apart by it, convinced that these secrets from the past will help them uncover the murderer.  

As usual, the very likable and intrepid Lady Emily narrates the story, but interspersed is the account of the Renaissance period lovers.  The ancient love story is a tragedy somewhat reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet.  The identity of the murderer turned out to be a surprise (to me, anyway!), and I couldn't help but be a little skeptical of some of the happy-ever-after aspects of the resolutions at the end of the book.  However, Alexander delivers another delightful story peopled with fascinating characters, and with an intriguing possibility for yet another follow-up.

By the same author: A Crimson Warning, Dangerous to Know, Tears of Pearl, A Fatal Waltz, A Poisoned Season, And Only to Deceive

Recent Reads {Glamorous Illusions}

Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T Bergren - This is the first in a new series set in the early 1900s, the Grand Tour series.  The main character, Cora, comes home from a term at Normal School to find that her papa's health is rapidly deteriorating and the family is in imminent danger of losing their farm.  But a surprise is in store - a wealthy stranger shows up to provide for her parents and to offer her the chance to see Europe in grand style.  It turns out this stranger is really her father - she is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy copper king.  Cora faces a mixed reception from her father's family, and her reactions and emotions are a roller coaster ride as she tries to find her place in their family and fit in with her half-sisters and half-brother and their friends while on the Grand Tour.  Cora must navigate these new experiences and some dangers while trying to determine who she really is.  She finds a friend in the apprentice tour guide, Will, but the other relationships are uncertain and sometimes hostile.  Will does his best to help and protect Cora, but has to suppress his growing feelings for her, because he knows that the relationship between guide and client has to remain just that.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I have the other novels by Bergren that I've read.  While I love historical fiction, I normally lose interest in any setting more recent than 1900.  This storyline and its characters held my attention and drew me in, and I am already anxiously awaiting the next in the series, Grave Consequences, slated for release in spring.

By the same author: The Blessed, The Betrayed, The Begotten

Recent Reads {A Christmas Homecoming}

A Christmas Homecoming by Anne Perry - It turns out there was at least one of these Christmas novellas by Anne Perry that I had not yet read.  I remedied that recently, and enjoyed this murder mystery which features Caroline Fielding as the sleuth instead of supporting character.  Caroline is the mother of Charlotte Pitt (main character in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series), who has been widowed, and married an actor, Joshua Fielding.  In this unusual mystery, Joshua and his theater troupe are spending the holidays at the estate of a wealthy sponsor preparing to present a play.  The sponsor's daughter has written a stage adaptation of the recently published novel Dracula, and it is Joshua's job to polish the play and have his troupe present it for the family and close friends.  A winter storm brings an unusual stranger to the estate seeking shelter, but he turns out to be an asset to the production of the play.  However, not everyone welcomes his presence, and he is later found murdered.  Snowed in and unable to summon help from police, Caroline draws from her knowledge of her son-in-law's detective methods and determines to find out which of them is a murderer.  

As with the rest of Perry's short "cozy" mysteries, the crime itself isn't terribly difficult to figure out, but in this one the motive is kept as a bit of a surprise.  

By the same author:  A Christmas Beginning, A Christmas Guest, A Christmas Odyssey

Recent Reads {A Christmas Beginning}

A Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry - Perry is a favorite mystery author of mine, and I've read a large number of her novels, and I think I've read all the Christmas novellas too.  However, it has been a couple of years, and when I glanced through the titles at the library, I couldn't clearly remember this one so I decided to read it again.  As I read, it came back to me, but was still an enjoyable and cozy read.  Perry's Christmas novellas are short mysteries set during the holiday season, and usually feature one of the minor characters from one of her other Victorian mystery series.  (William Monk series and Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series)  This one stars Superintendent Runcorn from the William Monk series.  Runcorn is often at odds with Monk in those books, but here we get an opportunity to sympathize with Runcorn and get to know him a little better.  He is taking a Christmas holiday on an island off the north coast of Wales, and while there finds the body of a young woman who has been brutally murdered.  Runcorn is prevailed upon by Melisande Ewart, one of the victim's friends who happens to have been a witness in one of Runcorn's London cases, to assist in the investigation.  The tiny island community and its law enforcement officials are unprepared for the unpleasant work of uncovering secrets and possible scandals that will lead to the murderer.  As Runcorn moves through the investigation, he faces his own personal struggles in finding how he can fit into the society of the island gentry given his background and occupation.  He strives to be a man of integrity and is surprised to find that maybe he has a chance at a new beginning that he couldn't have dreamed possible.

Since this is a short story, the mystery isn't terribly difficult to solve, and everything is tidied up neatly without very many plot twists, but Perry still delivers a mystery novella that manages to be heartwarming and hopeful despite beginning with a murder!

By the same author:  A Christmas Guest, A Christmas Odyssey