Teaser Tuesday/First Chapter First Paragraph - Lady of Ashes

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn at Books and Beat. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers! 

I just got started reading this book, and I think it will be a good one. It promises a murder mystery of some kind, and the profession of the heroine is unusual - she is an undertaker! In the first chapter alone, I learned all manner of things about mourning customs in Victorian London just as part of the narrative! The book opens with a diary entry prologue by an unknown person, and it looks like bits of the diary entries appear at intervals throughout. Who is the writer? Does this make you want to keep reading and find out? I plan to!

Violet and Graham were, of course, not invited to such an occasion. Their business was with the dead, not frolicking with the living.

~Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent, page 32

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First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is a weekly link-up hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or two) of a book you're reading, or thinking about reading. 

PROLOGUE

   I killed a man today, and although I didn't mean to do it, I must confess that it wasn't unpleasant at all.

   I suppose some might call it murder, but is it really murder if the victim deserved it? If he was especially irritating?

   Unfortunately, most societies frown upon this thing called murder, so I suppose I shall have to reinvent myself. Again. If only one could declare the deceased an obnoxious bore or an unrepentant fool and be done with it, there wouldn't be quite so much fuss.

   Fuss should be left to the undertakers, who sweep in with their tall hats swathed in black crape and nod solemnly at the family as they charge their exorbitant fees for the funereal spectacles that people love.

Here's the blurb:

Only a woman with an iron backbone could succeed as an undertaker in Victorian London, but Violet Morgan takes great pride in her trade. While her husband, Graham, is preoccupied with elevating their station in society, Violet is cultivating a sterling reputation for Morgan Undertaking. She is empathetic, well-versed in funeral fashions, and comfortable with death's role in life-- until its chilling rattle comes knocking on her own front door.

Violet's peculiar but happy life soon begins to unravel as Graham becomes obsessed with his own demons and all but abandons her as he plans a vengeful scheme. And the solace she's always found in her work evaporates like a departing soul when she suspects that some of the deceased she's dressed have been murdered. When Graham's plotting leads to his disappearance, Violet takes full control of the business and is commissioned for an undertaking of royal proportions. But she's certain there's a killer lurking in the London fog, and the next funeral may be her own.

Equal parts courage, compassion, and intrigue, Christine Trent tells an unrestrained tale of love and loss in the rigidly decorous world of Victorian society.

What do you think? Would you continue reading?

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

What I'm Reading - June 6, 2016

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This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Date. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next! I also link up with Tales of a Pee Dee Mama for D.E.A.R. Monday (Drop Everything And Read).

I finished reading . . .

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte -  Gosh, I hated Heathcliff. And also Catherine. And I wasn't a huge fan of Cathy either. A fascinating story about some truly jacked-up and despicable people. (Read my full review HERE.)




A Necessary Deception (The Daughters of Bainbridge House Book #1) by Laurie Alice Eakes - I enjoyed this one a lot more, as at least the characters were likable. Some flaws in how the spy story plays out though. (Read my full review HERE.)




I'm currently reading . . .

 The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy - rather slow going on this, since I work on it only when my daughter is along for the ride.




From This Momentby Elizabeth Camden - Looks like I'll have another winner from Camden!




Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent - just started this yesterday.





Next on the stack...

Dawn at Emberwilde (A Treasures of Surrey Novel)by Sarah E. Ladd
The Pharaoh's Daughter: A Treasures of the Nile Novel by Mesu Andrews
Charity's Cross (Charles Towne Belles) (Volume 4)by MaryLu Tyndall
Lady in the Mist: A Novel (The Midwives) by Laurie Alice Eakes

  

   


On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Recent Reads - Wuthering Heights (Back to the Classics Challenge)
Scripture and a Snapshot - Set An Example (Class of 2016)
Recent Reads - A Necessary Deception
Book Blogger Hop - June 3, 2016
Wordless Wednesday - Memorial Day Parade
Teaser Tuesday/First Chapter First Paragraph - A Necessary Deception

And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Weekly - Grad Week Edition
Virtual Refrigerator - Paper-cutting from the Past
A Memorial Day PhotoJournal

What are you reading?

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - Wuthering Heights (Back to the Classics Challenge)

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Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - I've often heard that this is a book that readers either love or hate. I'm not sure my feelings about it are that neatly delineated, but it took me many long weeks to finish it. It took me quite a few chapters before I actually wanted to continue reading, and by that time I'd also decided that there were very few characters in the book that I liked or had much sympathy for, so while it's certainly a well-crafted and fascinating story of how bitterness and hatred bring destruction and misery to two generations of families and their servants, I couldn't genuinely like it.

The story opens with Mr. Lockwood's narration of his visit to the estate of Wuthering Heights, being new to the area and letting the smaller house known as Thrushcross Grange from the master of Wuthering Heights, Mr. Heathcliff. Lockwood's interactions and brief unplanned stay at Wuthering Heights are so unusual that as he is recovering from an illness, he requests his housekeeper to tell him the background as she knows it. Most of the remainder of the book is Ellen Dean's telling. Ellen (or Nelly, as she is often called) was nurse and servant to both generations of the two families.

Heathcliff is a wild young orphan brought up by Mr. Earnshaw, along with his own daughter Catherine and son Hindley. Catherine and Heathcliff are inseparable companions as children and develop a fierce love for each other as they grow up, but even so, Catherine marries a neighbor, Edgar Linton. Heathcliff is jealous and angry, and on top of that is badly mistreated by Hindley Earnshaw who became master of Wuthering Heights several years previous. There is a great deal of hysterics and passions and throwing of fits by all three of them, and eventually Heathcliff elopes with Linton's younger sister, which sets up even more complete enmity between the two houses. Catherine takes ill and passes away after delivering a child - her namesake, Cathy - and is mourned by only her husband and the self-absorbed Heathcliff. Heathcliff's wife, having been cruelly treated, runs away and for several years brings up her own child, Linton, by herself, being determined that Heathcliff should not even know about him.

This second generation of characters takes over the story when Linton Heathcliff's mother dies, and Edgar Linton brings the child home. Young Cathy is determined to be friends with her cousin, but Heathcliff comes to claim the child almost immediately. Young Linton is sickly and spoiled and under the cruel conditions and scorn of his father, he becomes a weak-willed, selfish, and manipulative little tyrant. I tried to like Cathy, as she was spirited and cheerful, but I didn't like her a great deal, to be honest. Unfortunately, she is manipulated and tricked into finally marrying Linton, by design of Heathcliff, so that he can gain his revenge on Edgar Linton by having ownership of both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange by the marriage. Of course Linton does not live long, and Cathy's father-in-law is incredibly cruel to them both, as well as to Hareton Earnshaw, who would have been the rightful heir to Wuthering Heights, except that his father had mortgaged the estate heavily and lost it to the conniving Heathcliff.

I suppose the ending is more or less happy for Cathy and Hareton, and sobering when when Heathcliff finally dies completely unrepentant of all the torment and wickedness he has heaped upon so many people, none of whom deserved his savage hatred. This is why I say I disliked the characters. Heathcliff does not have even one redeeming characteristic, in my opinion; and the object of his selfish obsession, the first Catherine, was likewise a selfish, malicious, hateful person. Neither of them seemed sane from early on, and both had a tendency to be vicious and vindictive, and actually took pleasure in hurting others. Young Linton was a sniveling and spoiled weakling when he was introduced, and quickly became a hateful and self-absorbed wretch, and why Cathy made any effort to care for him after his first display of vileness is beyond me, except that she was very young. I did have a little bit of sympathy for Cathy, and for Hareton, who seemed to have everything and everyone against him through no fault of his own. 

How anyone could consider this a love story is inexplicable. Whatever the feeling between Heathcliff and Catherine is, it is definitely not love. It is obsession and possessiveness, and I felt like they both needed to committed to insane asylums. Heathcliff is a thoroughly evil villain and yet is somehow cast as a star-crossed lover. Young Linton is despicable, although I suppose he didn't have much chance to become otherwise. Certainly Cathy would have been better off if he had died much sooner like I was hoping, but then Heathcliff wouldn't have been able to get his desired revenge on all the people that were already dead. That, in itself, is an indication of his depravity and insanity. Overall, I'm glad to be finally finished reading this classic! I doubt I'll re-read it.

This post is linked to the Challenge Link-Up Post: Classic With a Place Name in the Title

All the details are here: Back to the Classics Challenge for 2016, hosted at Books and Chocolate. 

1. A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.
2. A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1966.
3. A classic by a woman author 
4. A classic in translation - any book originally written and published in a language other than your native language.
5. A classic by a non-white author - can be African-American, Asian, Latino, Native American, etc.
6. An adventure classic - can be fiction or non-fiction.
7. A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic
8. A classic detective novel - It must include a detective, amateur or professional. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, completed February 10th.
9. A classic which includes the name of a place in the title - It can be the name of a house, a town, a street, etc.  Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, completed June 5th.
10. A classic which has been banned or censored - If possible, mention why it was banned or censored.
11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college)
12. A volume of classic short stories - This must be one complete volume, at least 8 short stories. White Nights, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, in progress.

 ©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot - Set An Example (Class of 2016)

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.

~I Timothy 4:12, 15~

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

Let Us Grow is hosted by Let Us Walk Worthy

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - A Necessary Deception

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A Necessary Deception (The Daughters of Bainbridge House Book #1) by Laurie Alice Eakes - The story opens with young widow Lydia Gale going to Dartmoor Prison to arrange the parole of a French prisoner, as a favor to her late husband. She thinks the matter concluded after she has met with the Frenchman and made the necessary arrangements, and continues on to London where she is expected to oversee wedding preparations for one of her younger sisters, and a Season for another sister. To Lydia's shock, she is confronted with a Mr. Lang who tells her that the prisoner escaped and that she could be charged with treason as an accessory. And Lydia is caught in a trap of blackmail. She must offer introductions into society and connections to the men Mr. Lang sends to her, or risk her family's safety and reputation.

When Christien de Meuse arrives to meet Lydia and request the introductions promised by Lang, she recognizes him as the French prisoner, and is suspicious despite her intuitive willingness to trust him. Christien says his father was French, but that he has lived in England since he was a boy and is loyal to Great Britain. Can Lydia trust him? Is there anyone she can trust as she tries to navigate through the confusing web of spies and double agents and divided loyalties she finds herself in? All while keeping her family from the ruin of scandal. The relationship between Christien and Lydia warms as they find themselves needing to work together and trust each other to find out who is really behind the blackmail and threats to England.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book, and especially the character Christien. The relationships and Lydia's dilemmas were well done, but I was sometimes confused because many chapters ended with a sort of cliffhanger that was never adequately explained. For example, Lydia would be in the garden and the voice that she recognized as Mr. Lang's would speak to her from behind, then the chapter would end, and the reader would never be given any hint as to what happened. Truly the characters knew more than the reader did! Even after the climax of the story when Lydia and Christien confront the villain(s), and when all the motives and explanations of all the maneuverings were supposedly revealed, I felt that very little had been adequately explained. I reached the end of the book with little idea why the spy master had gone to such lengths to manipulate the characters, or why Lydia had been drawn into any of it, which made for an unsatisfying finish despite the happy ending from a romantic standpoint.

Overall, an enjoyable read with interesting characters and a decent love story, but with little discernible point to all the espionage and intrigue. Readers who want a light romance in a period setting will probably still enjoy it, but those who want a good mystery will be disappointed in the many loose threads.

By the same author: A Lady's Honor and on my TBR: Lady In the Mist

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Book Blogger Hop - June 3, 2016

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Today's Book Blogger Hop question from Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer makes me a little uncomfortable:

Do you reply to every comment on your posts? 

I'm squirming a bit, because I have to admit that I don't reply to every comment. Like many bloggers, I have good intentions, but I just don't get it all done! When there's a comment asking a question, or something specific that I can reply to, I usually do that. Otherwise, my goal is to return the favor and visit the blog of each person that is kind enough to comment here. I do my best as time allows.

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday - Memorial Day Parade

photo courtesy CAP

photo courtesy CAP

photo courtesy CAP

photo courtesy CAP

photo courtesy CAP

photo courtesy CAP

For more about Memorial Day, see From the High School Lesson Book - Memorial Day

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life at Rossmont, and at Sometimes Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Tots and Me . . . Growing Up Together!

 

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/