Gen Lit
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Review: Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
For each of us the name Cleopatra conjures up many vivid images… sensuality, seduction, beauty, the exotic, wealth, excess, Elizabeth Taylor. While the legend of Cleopatra is prevalent, what has been buried over time is this incredible woman’s real tale. What we know of her today comes to us through the writings of pissy old dead guys. In her book Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff attempts to sift through these accounts, many of which are brimming with Roman propaganda, to reveal a woman even more impressive than her modern day persona. I like to think of her as the O.B., the Original Bitch. Cleopatra became Queen of Egypt at the…
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Author Interview & Giveaway: The Earthquake Machine by Mary Pauline Lowry
I recently had the pleasure of reviewing The Earthquake Machine by Mary Pauline Lowry. The Earthquake Machine is a moving coming of age story about a young girl who is struggling to find her place in the world and come to terms with her blossoming womanhood. It was an absolutely fantastic story and I am honored to be able to offer a free copy to my readers as a giveaway! If you are interested in the giveaway it run through 4/13/12 to 4/20/12 Mary also agreed to do an interview with me as well, so without further ado please welcome Mary Pauline Lowry to The Lit Bitch!
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Review: Mr Churchill’s Secretary (Maggie Hope #1) by Susan Elia MacNeal
With flaming red hair to match the bombs bursting in air, Margaret Hope sits behind a typist desk in the Prime Minsters office at Number 10…waiting to be useful to someone….anyone. Air raid sirens sound throughout London in 1940. Bombs drop from the air threatening to destroy the heart and soul of the British people. In this dark time, Winston Churchill has been named PM and with any luck, he will keep the British spirit alive while war rages on….though he knowns a German invasion is eminent, all he needs is a little bit of hope to give the people. As luck would have it, Churchill does have Hope in…
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Review: The Journal of Countess Francoise Krasinska by Klementyna Tanska Hoffman
Charming towering spires, castles, and palaces litter Poland in the 18th century which makes it the perfect backdrop for a fairytale romance. In The Journal of Countess Francoise Krasinska by Klementyna Tanska Hoffman we explore the true life fairytale romance of Francoise Krasinska and the Prince Royal, Charles Duke of Courland (Poland/Lithuanian region). Klementyna Tanska Hoffman pens this historic account of the Countess Francoise courtship and hasty marriage to the Duke. Though it is a second-hand account of the events, they are historically accurate and offer a unique insight into the royal court during the Georgian era. I am not familiar with Eastern European history….at all, so I was a little…
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Giveaway: Pierre and Luce by Romain Rolland
Enter to win a copy of the beautiful and tragic love story of Pierre and Luce by the Nobel Prize-winning French author Romain Rolland. Thanks to my friends over at Onesuch Press for giving a beautiful copy to 2 lucky winners! I am a huge fan of this cover, Onesuch Press did a fantastic job with it! An interesting but about this publishing company is that they publish the lesser known works of well known and respected authors. This is one of the reasons I LOVE this publisher, I love being exposed to new literary works that I might normally have overlooked. This giveaway is open to US, UK, AU, and CA…
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Review: A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death That Changed the British Monarchy by Helen Rappaport
The romance between Prince Albert and Queen Victoria is legendary–a love that bordered on obsession. Helen Rappaport’s latest non-fiction book, A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death That Changed the British Monarchy explores how a fairy tale romance turned into a dark melancholy that altered the course of the British monarchy. I won an ARC of this book through Goodreads. Non-fiction is normally not my review genre….non-fiction is more The Lib Bitch’s area than mine :). But I love Queen Victoria and was thrilled when I won the giveaway. I haven’t read a lot of books on Queen Victoria but I know the love story like I know any classic fairy…
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Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Richard Mayhew has no idea what awaits him in London on the eve of his going away party in Scotland. His friends pitch in to get him a going away gift, a white umbrella with a map of the London Underground. He can’t help but stare at the umbrella with an eerie omen of impending disaster….little does he know how right he is. For three years, Richard’s life is more or less normal. He works in business and he is engaged, but he still can’t help but feel disenchanted. One night, Richard’s life changes drastically….he encounters a girl bleeding on the streets of London. With his decision to help her,…
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Review: Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth
Abnegation. Amity. Candor. Dauntless. Erudite. Where faction do you belong to? On Choosing Day Beatrice (Tris) Prior must decide but first she undergoes an aptitude test to see which faction she will most likely gravitate toward….then she must choose to define her identity for the rest of her life based on that information. Born into the Abnegation faction, she is supposed to be selfless and think only of others….but she feels like a square peg in Abnegation. Hoping the test will shed some light on her conundrum, the worst happens—her aptitude test is inconclusive. She is Divergent. Being Divergent is dangerous….if anyone find out, her life will be in imminent danger. She is a threat to…
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Review: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
What is a “weekend” you ask?… Like you I’m having Downton Abbey withdrawls, so I turned to Nancy Mitford to give me a fix. Nancy was one of the famous Mitford sisters, members of an aristocratic and eccentric English family who became quite famous for their exploits. There is a very interesting biography about them that I plan to tackle at some point by Mary S. Lovell called The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family. Nancy Mitford bases many of her fictional characters and stories off of her infamous family. The book I picked up is called The Pursuit of Love (for all of you cover whores out there…
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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…