Category: Gen Lit

Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Gen Lit, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

by The Lib Bitch1 Comment on 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 it is worth reading for the cover alone). I had read a few reviews about the book before reading it myself, and everyone commented on how funny it was. My hopes were high. It wasn’t what I was expecting, however this short book really grew on me. Continue reading “Review: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford” →

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

by The Lit Bitch9 Comments on 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” →

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

by The Lit Bitch4 Comments on 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” →

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

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on 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)” →

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

by The Lit Bitch3 Comments on 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” →