Review: Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs #1) by Jacqueline Winspear

War changes everything.

In 1910, the world is a different place. England is still at peace, the aristocracy rules Britain’s social scene, and the life of Maisie Dobbs changes forever. At thirteen, young Maisie goes to work as a maid in the London household of Lady Rowan Compton, a wealthy suffragette and philanthropist.

Though she is poor, Maisie is rich in intelligence. One night, Lady Rowan finds Maisie reading in her library and not just reading but teaching herself Latin and philosophy. Recognizing that Maisie has an aptitude to do something useful with her life, Lady Rowan begins sponsoring private tutoring under her friend Dr. Maurice Blanche.

Before she knows it, Maisie is taking the entrance exams for Cambridge. When she is accepted, Maisie can hardly wait to share her joy with her family and friends (other servants in the house) but she is met with jealousy and criticism. Continue reading “Review: Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs #1) by Jacqueline Winspear”

Review: A Stranger in Mayfair (Charles Lenox Mysteries #4) by Charles Finch

Charles Lenox’s is the quintessential armchair detective. Being a highborn well funded gentleman has it’s perks and one of them is being allowed eccentricities. For Lenox, his ‘eccentricity’ is….wait for it….a J-O-B!

Being a detective is something most of Lenox’s friends frown upon, he frequently finds himself on the source of a good many jokes and though he is well liked, his profession isn’t deemed proper by his social circle. This fact is beginning to wear on Lenox though, after all he is an Oxford chappie and well liked in London society and with his older brother holding a seat in Parliament….Lenox longs to be truly respected.

In the last Lenox novel, The Fleet Street Murders, Lenox was elected to Parliament– politics being a long admired profession and a role Lenox hoped to fill for many years.

Though many of his dreams are coming true, so much in his life has changed since the first novel in this charming series! In the latest book by Charles Finch, A Stranger in Mayfair, finds our beloved detective retuning to London after his marriage to his life long friend Lady Jane. Parliament will be in session in a few weeks, he has taken on an equally eccentric apprentice (Lord Dallington), and now a footman of a fellow MP has put Lenox square between two jobs he loves most…..politics and crime solving. Continue reading “Review: A Stranger in Mayfair (Charles Lenox Mysteries #4) by Charles Finch”

Review: Pierre and Luce by Romain Rolland (a short story)

On the war torn streets of Paris 1918, two lovers meet by chance on a subway. Pierre is a modern day ‘Hamlet’….depressed, hopeless, and disillusioned by the world in which he lives–in his reality, he is an 18 year old middle class boy who has just received his conscription papers.

But when he sees Luce on the subway, she is his ray of hope–a promise of  a better life than the one destine to be his future.

But does she see him? Does she know? Does she feel it too? Why would a girl so full of hope and life look twice at him? Before he can make his introduction, she exits at the next subway stop and the train departs before he can follow.

He spends the next couple of days searching for her–longing to see her again. He doesn’t know what it is about her that draws him in but she is his destiny–of that he is sure. Continue reading “Review: Pierre and Luce by Romain Rolland (a short story)”

Review: Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5) by Gail Carriger

Agent Blue Bonnet here with a transmittal from the Parasol Protectorate secret society: Timeless by Gail Carriger is finally out! I discovered this series last year while I was participating in the Steampunk Reading Challenge over at Bookish Ardour. I absolutely loved Soulless (Book #1) and it has been an interesting series to watch evolve overall.

Timeless is Book #5 in the series–which seems to be the last installment I am sad to say. The first four books take place in rapid secession but this book is set two years after Book #4. Alexia Tarabotti AKA Lady Maccon, is settling into her new life–as best she can considering she is married to a werewolf and boasts a metanatural daughter.

Alexia is what is known as a preternatural, meaning she is born with no soul–she cancels out the supernatural abilities in other creatures and sets them ‘free’–in other words she gives them the ‘true death’–thus she is know in the supernatural sect as a ‘soul-sucker’. Her daughter, Prudence, is a metanatural which means she can absorb supernatural power on contact–earning the name ‘soul-stealer’. Both terms don’t bode well for the Maccon family. Most supernaturals fear both them, but others long to be free of the ‘curse’–immortality. Continue reading “Review: Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5) by Gail Carriger”

Review: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

Do you find yourself wasting countless hours a day, day dreaming of the Edwardian era? Do you suddenly find yourself longing for a corset, button up boots, and an ostrich plum hat? You my friend are in good company and clearly suffering from Downton Abbey withdrawals.

If like me, you are looking for literary tale to satisfy your need…then look no further than Kate Alcott’s novel, The Dressmaker. The Dressmaker is a Cinderella-ish tale reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada set against the backdrop of the Titanic disaster.

Tess Collins spontaneously quits her job with the hope of gaining last minute employment on the Titanic the day it is to set sail. Tess has been working as a maid but her passion is fashion….she longs to design luxurious dresses and make a name for herself in the new world.

Lucile Duff Gordon (who was a real person by the way) is already a famous clothing designer, she is traveling to America with her titled husband, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, to supervise her New York fashion show–but at the last minute her maid quits.

Fate intervenes, crossing the paths of Tess Collins and Lucile Duff Gordon–their lives change forever. Continue reading “Review: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott”