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.

Recent Reads {Guardian of the Flame}

Guardian of the Flame by T.L. Higley - This is the third in Higley's Seven Wonders series, and is set in Alexandria, Egypt in 48BC.  If you're sketchy on your ancient history, that was when Julius Caesar and the Romans entered Egypt and the battle for power between the Romans and the Ptolomaic heirs to the Egyptian throne, including Cleopatra.  The main character is Sophia, a reclusive and embittered widow who is the Keeper of the lighthouse at Alexandria.  She faces many difficult decisions in the uncertain times - how to protect the scholars from the Museum and their work, how to support her former student Cleopatra, and how to respond to the Roman centurion who is invading her lighthouse and possibly her heart.  One of the scholars is an elderly Jewish man that has been Sophia's friend through many years, and who gently but persistently reminds her that the One God loves her and she doesn't need to prove herself worthy of His love. The story explores the time from the viewpoints of Greek Egyptians and Romans, and is a great read for anyone interested in historical fiction.

By the same author: City of the Dead, Pompeii: City on Fire, In the Shadow of Colossus

Recent Reads {City of the Dead}

City of the Dead by T.L. Higley - This novel in Higley's Seven Wonders series was not what I expected, but I mean that in a good way.  Obviously it is based in ancient Egypt, during the building of the Great Pyramid, but I thought it would probably be a romance.  Although there is a love story winding through it, it is actually a murder mystery, and a fairly good one!  The story is told in first person by Hemiunu, the Grand Vizier and the architect of the Great Pyramid.  He references a tragedy that occurred in the past that still haunts him, and as events unfold he realizes that it is linked to the murders happening in his present.  Hemi is also cousin to Pharoah Khufu, and their royal circle includes Khufu's wife, Merit, and a couple of other high-ranking Egyptians.  One of their number, Hemi's closest friend, is murdered and Hemi is determined to find the killer and restore ma'at (the Egyptian concept of order) without losing any time on the ongoing construction of the pyramid.  When Merit is also murdered, the search for the killer is intensified, but Hemi begins to meet resistance and to see the possible connections between the murders and what happened in his youth.  During this time he also befriends his new foreman and his daughter, who happen to be People of the One - worshippers of the One God of the Jews - and accepts their help in his quest for answers, and a relationship between himself and the daughter blossoms.  Hemi is himself accused of the murders and spends time in prison and on the run before the mystery is solved.

So is this book a "Christian romance" novel?  Not exactly.  It's unusual in a few ways, and a very enjoyable read, one I highly recommend.  By the way, you can also visit Higley's website, No Passport Required, for more information about her books and what is fact and what is fiction in each of them.

By the same author:  Pompeii: City on Fire, In the Shadow of Colossus