Audiobook Review: Love’s Courage by Elizabeth Meyette & Giveaway

Love’s Courage by Elizabeth Meyette
Book 3 in The Brentwood Saga
Unabridged, 7 hr. 36 min.
Boris Publishing
Amy McFadden (Narrator)
January 23, 2018
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Romance

Source: Received download from Audible with Audiobookworm Productions tour

She had to leave him to save her father. He had to follow her to save his heart.

In August 1777, Jenny Sutton leaves Williamsburg, Virginia and the man she loves and sets sail for British occupied Manhattan to tend to her dying father. Aboard the Destiny, Jonathon Brentwood makes a request of Jenny that will entangle her in the network of spies serving the Patriot cause. With her father already under suspicion, Jenny’s activities must be hidden from the watchful eyes of British troops. But she has caught the eye of British officer Lieutenant Nigel Ashby, who is aware of her sympathies, yet offers her protection through marriage. Only by accepting his proposal will Jenny avoid the hangman's noose…and lose Andrew forever.

Desperate to join—and protect—Jenny, Andrew Wentworth agrees to deliver messages to Patriot troops on his way to New York. His route brings him face to face with those suffering under British rule. The fight for independence and his desire to reach Jenny become intertwined. Arriving in Manhattan, Andrew is arrested as a spy by the British officer coercing Jenny into marriage. She may be saved from the gallows but will Andrew?

As war rages around them, Jenny and Andrew must find the courage to fight for their new country's freedom and their own eternal love.

This is the kind of historical romance that I enjoy most: hearty in historical detail and atmospheric world building, with the romance added in as is fitting to the story. I certainly enjoy a romance set in the English Ton or on the American western trail, but sometimes they tend to feel somewhat cookie-cutter: replace the heroine and the specific situation she is running from when she meets hero, while the two don’t always get along well at first, they fall in love and everything is wonderful at the end. These are fun and light and quick reads. However, I’m a straight historical reader first, and I truly prefer more historical detail and depth of story that fits into some real historical event. That is exactly what Elizabeth Meyette brings to us in Love’s Courage.

This novel brings us squarely into the events of the American Revolution. While we are introduced from the outset to the heartbreak that pushes the romantic plot-line forward throughout the entirety of the novel, it is clear that this is just an element that the characters must face while they try to help their families and the American cause. It is certainly something important to each of the two romantic leads, but it isn’t their only important trait or direction in life. However, don’t fear that you are going to lose out on the romance story-line, it is present throughout and is well served by the details.

I have not read the first two books in this series, Love’s Destiny or Love’s Spirit, however, for the most part I felt sufficiently in control of the story having jumped in at book 3. The first chapter, where we meet Andrew and Jenny, had me questioning if we were introduced to their budding romance in either of the earlier novels because it felt like I should know a little something about them already, but based on reviewing the blurbs of the other two novels, if so, they must have been side characters. So besides that initial chapter, I felt comfortable with starting later in the series.

★★★★☆

I very much enjoyed listening to Amy McFadden read this novel. Her personification of the characters was complete and made them entirely more relatable to me and my enjoyment of them within the story. Each character has their own voice and characteristics. Any good narrator can do that though; what makes it an even better production is the small things. When they are aboard a ship, the characters have to sometimes shout to be heard over the wind or the snapping of the sails. Sometimes they are very angry for a situation not going they way anticipated. McFadden brilliantly encapsulates these stylistic elements in her performance. Additionally, the pace of the performance is perfect to keep the plot moving forward, but give you enough time to digest what is happening (as the plot is FULL!).

You can preview a sample of the book below:

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Literary Melting Pot

Buy the Book: Amazon | Audible| Barnes & Noble | iTunes | RJ Julia

Also by Elizabeth Meyette:

Love’s Destiny (Brentwood #1)

Love’s Spirit (Brentwood #2)

Find Elizabeth Meyette: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Find Amy McFadden: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway!

As part of the tour, there is a tour wide giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card, open internationally.  The giveaway is open March 18 to the 25th.  All entries are made via the Gleam form on any of the tour stops.  Any questions should be directed to Audiobookworm Productions.  Good luck!! Love’s Courage Giveaway: $50 Amazon Gift Card

Follow the Tour!

On the Audiobookworm Productions website

Mar. 18th:

The Maiden's Court

The Book Junkie Reads . . .

Mar. 19th:

Jazzy Book Reviews

T's Stuff

Mar. 20th:

What Is That Book About

Mar. 21st:

Notes from 'Round the Bend

Mar. 22nd:

The Bookworm Lodge

Mar. 23rd:

The Book Addict's Reviews

Booktalk with Eileen

Mar. 24th:

Up 'Til Dawn Book Blog

Lilly's Book World

Copyright © 2018 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie & Giveaway

The Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie
Book 3 in the Mistresses of Versailles Series
ARC, e-book, 416 pages
Atria Books
March 21, 2017
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received via Netgalley for Review with TLC Book Tours

In the final installment of Sally Christie’s “tantalizing” (New York Daily News) Mistresses of Versailles trilogy, Jeanne Becu, a woman of astounding beauty but humble birth, works her way from the grimy back streets of Paris to the palace of Versailles, where the aging King Louis XV has become a jaded and bitter old philanderer. Jeanne bursts into his life and, as the Comtesse du Barry, quickly becomes his official mistress.

“That beastly bourgeois Pompadour was one thing; a common prostitute quite another kettle of fish.”

After decades suffering the King's endless stream of Royal Favorites, the princesses of the Court have reached a breaking point. Horrified that he would bring the lowborn Comtesse du Barry into the hallowed halls of Versailles, Louis XV’s daughters, led by the indomitable Madame Adelaide, vow eternal enmity and enlist the young dauphiness Marie Antoinette in their fight against the new mistress. But as tensions rise and the French Revolution draws closer, a prostitute in the palace soon becomes the least of the nobility’s concerns.

Told in Christie’s witty and engaging style, the final book in The Mistresses of Versailles trilogy will delight and entrance fans as it once again brings to life the sumptuous and cruel world of eighteenth century Versailles, and France as it approaches inevitable revolution.

I have been fascinated with Christie’s Mistresses of Versailles series since the first pages of The Sisters of Versailles. French history in general is an area that I am not as familiar with and therefore the stories are always new and exciting. While I still found many of the things that I enjoyed about the prior novels in the series, Enemies of Versailles didn’t carry quite the same level of feelings that I had for the first two books. Let me explain.

In both The Sisters of Versailles and The Rivals of Versailles, the women featured were all lovers of the King. This lent the chapters a competitive nature and added to the scandal that it was of the time. The Enemies of Versailles pits du Barry, his last lover, against his eldest daughter, Adelaide, and then to some extent the dauphine and later Queen, Marie Antoinette. Understandably, there is a very different dynamic at play here; at the very least they are fighting over very different types of love and power. This wasn’t as compelling a driving force for me as had been previously. It was a different kind of rivalry than I had come to expect from this series that wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

Additionally, I couldn’t help but take the side of du Barry (because you always pick a side in these types of stories). While she was the King’s lover and raised up from the gutter, she was for the most part kind and easy to read her way of thinking in her chapters. Adelaide was more difficult. Her frustration with du Barry all was because of simply her role as the lover of her father was a sin and she wanted to bring him back to the right side of God. It truly felt like a little girl not getting her way, which wasn’t cute on like a 50 year old woman. She was vindictive and conniving, yet she was supposed to be above everyone else. So ultimately I enjoyed the du Barry chapters more. One thing that I did enjoy was when Adelaide was with her whole bevy of sisters. There interactions reminded me of that of the Nesle sisters from The Sisters of Versailles; the backbiting, the one-up-manship, etc.

This book presented a different view of Marie Antoinette as well. Typically books about her feature her as a central character and we see her in a sympathetic light, or juxtaposed against the view of her from the common people. This was interesting to see how the two factions, du Barry and Adelaide sort of fought for control over her when she first came to court. She is a more minor figure in this story, but she is still used as a tool in the battle between the women. I actually enjoyed her portion of the story, even seeing her in a different way.

Overall, this was a good read, but not my favorite of the whole series.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Let Them Read Books
• The Lit Bitch

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Sally Christie:

The Sisters of Versailles (Book 1)
[My Review]

The Rivals of Versailles (Book 2)
[My Review]

Find Sally Christie: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

Giveaway!

As part of the tour, I have the opportunity to giveaway one copy of The Enemies of Versailles to a reader from the USA or Canada.  Entries can be made via the Rafflecopter form below!  The giveaway will run until March 29th, 2017.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Follow the Tour:

On TLC Book Tours Website

Monday, March 6th: Books Without Any Pictures

Tuesday, March 7th: Bewitched Bookworms

Wednesday, March 8th: Reading Reality

Friday, March 10th: Books à la Mode – Spotlight/Feature

Monday, March 13th: Historical-Fiction.com

Tuesday, March 14th: From the TBR Pile – Spotlight/Feature

Wednesday, March 15th: Let Them Read Books

Thursday, March 16th: Scandalous Women

Friday, March 17th: BookNAround

Monday, March 20th: Books ‘n Tea

Monday, March 20th: An Accidental Blog

Tuesday, March 21st: Read Love Blog – Spotlight/Feature

Wednesday, March 22nd: The Maiden’s Court

Thursday, March 23rd: Snowdrop Dreams of Books

Monday, March 27th: Must Read Faster

Tuesday, March 28th: Hoser’s Blook

Thursday, March 30th: Dreams, Etc.

Friday, March 31st: Book Reviews and More by Kathy – Spotlight/Feature

Monday, April 3rd: A Holland Reads – Spotlight/Feature

Wednesday, April 5th: Becky on Books

Friday, April 7th: A Literary Vacation

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Sinful Scottish Laird by Julia London

Sinful Scottish Laird by Julia London
Book 2 in the Highland Grooms Series
ARC, e-Book, 384 pages
HQN Books
February 28, 2017
★★★★ ½☆

Heat Rating:

Genre: Historical Romance

Source: Received from publisher for review (via Netgalley) for TLC Book Tour

A young widow puts her sexy suitors to the test in New York Times bestselling author Julia London's scintillating return to the idyllic Scottish Highlands.

Widowed and forced to remarry in three years' time or forfeit her son's inheritance, Daisy Bristol, Lady Chatwick, has plenty of suitors vying for her hand and her fortune. But a letter from a long-lost love sends Daisy and her young son to her Scottish Highland estate to buy time for his return. Along the way she encounters the powerful Cailean Mackenzie, laird of Arrandale and a notorious smuggler, and she is utterly and unwillingly bewitched.

Cailean has no use for any Sassenach in his glen. But Daisy's brazen, flirtatious nature and alluring beauty intrigue him. When her first love appears unexpectedly at her estate, Cailean knows that a passionate woman like Daisy cannot marry this man. And to prevent the union, Cailean must put his own life at risk to win her heart.

I know that there is a wealth of Highland romance novels out there, but I am late to the game and this is among my first (outside of Outlander of course). And while forbidden relationships between Scot and English is a typical trope in romantic fiction, I do think that Julia London brings a breath of fresh air to this theme.

There were so many things to like about this book.

First of all, the atmosphere was palpable. I could feel the mists enveloping the valleys, see the crags and glens, and feel the wind and storms over the nearby loch. Scotland came to life, especially with regard to the treacherous passability of the Highland roads. The scenes that took place in the stronghold castle of the Mackenzie’s were beautifully wrought and I could see that castle and the set-up for the festival clearly in my mind.

I LOVED that the heroine is not a weepy wallflower, but rather a widow who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to explore life in the window of opportunity before she is expected to again marry. She isn’t expected to be inexperienced and learning her way through the world, she has been there before. It was refreshing. I also loved that her young son plays a rather significant role in the novel, not just that of a problem or unexpected surprise. He is actively involved with all the characters and I personally evaluated all Daisy’s suitors based on how they interacted with her son. The connection between her son and Cailean was almost more touching than that of Daisy and her beau. While Daisy has a few suitors, the serious contender is her childhood sweetheart, Robert, who has suddenly returned to the picture, and her infatuation with the Highland laird, Cailean. I was questioning Robert WAY early on – maybe just because I liked her with Cailean, but it was interesting how it played out. There was no typical misunderstanding between Hero and Heroine – they both knew the reality of the situation; Daisy needed to marry someone of English standing for her son, and Cailean was a Scot that would never be a fit – however, I really loved how it all played out. London was certainly able to connect me with the characters because I definitely had a few tears during Daisy’s departure from Scotland, which is unusual for me in a traditional historical romance.

The sexual tension and subsequent sex scenes are hot, and while not complete graphic, they are detailed. The back and forth sparring between Daisy and Cailean was fabulously done and built their relationship even more.

If you have read the first book in this series, Wild Wicked Scot, which I have not, you will be delighted to find a older version of that book’s Hero/Heroine in Cailean’s parents – and they do have a decent role in the novel, as does his brother, Rabbie, who will headline book 3.

In this first book of London’s I very much enjoyed my experience and will be happy to pick up book 3 soon.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Books and Boys Book Blog
• Joyfully Reviewed

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Julia London:

Julia London has written many novels, you can find a complete list here, but the rest of the books in the Highland Grooms series are as follows:

Wild Wicked Scot (Book 1)

Hard Hearted Highlander (Book 3)

Find Julia London: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Follow the Tour!

TLC Book Tours Website

 

Copyright © 2017 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Pox Americana by Elizabeth Fenn

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Pox Americana by Elizabeth Fenn
e-book, 384 pages
Hill and Wang
October 2, 2002
★★★½☆☆

Genre: History, Non-Fiction

Source: Personal purchase for my Masters class

The astonishing, hitherto unknown truths about a disease that transformed the United States at its birth

A horrifying epidemic of smallpox was sweeping across the Americas when the American Revolution began, and yet we know almost nothing about it. Elizabeth A. Fenn is the first historian to reveal how deeply variola affected the outcome of the war in every colony and the lives of everyone in North America.

By 1776, when military action and political ferment increased the movement of people and microbes, the epidemic worsened. Fenn's remarkable research shows us how smallpox devastated the American troops at Québec and kept them at bay during the British occupation of Boston. Soon the disease affected the war in Virginia, where it ravaged slaves who had escaped to join the British forces. During the terrible winter at Valley Forge, General Washington had to decide if and when to attempt the risky inoculation of his troops. In 1779, while Creeks and Cherokees were dying in Georgia, smallpox broke out in Mexico City, whence it followed travelers going north, striking Santa Fe and outlying pueblos in January 1781. Simultaneously it moved up the Pacific coast and east across the plains as far as Hudson's Bay.
The destructive, desolating power of smallpox made for a cascade of public-health crises and heartbreaking human drama. Fenn's innovative work shows how this mega-tragedy was met and what its consequences were for America.

This originated as an opinion essay for class and I have adapted it for a review, but because of this it is a little different in tone than my regular reviews.

The experience of reading Pox Americana was a very different one for me as I was not all that sure how this epidemic would relate to American history during the Revolution. I soon found myself thoroughly engrossed in the material and actually interested in learning more. Disease is always a common factor in war, but for me, the association of smallpox with history had always been regarding the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the effect of its arrival on their way of life; I had not previously considered how it might have affected the colonists and almost changed the outcome of history as we know it.

I have never read a microhistory on disease, or for that matter any type of book on disease. That has always been my husband’s area of interest and I was happy to leave that study to him; so I was more than a little hesitant about approaching a history on smallpox (remember that this wasn’t originally by choice). One thing that I appreciated early on, rather surprisingly, was the author’s fairly detailed discussion of the effects of smallpox. While disturbing, especially when reading these passages while eating lunch, it gave me a much deeper understanding of just how devastating the disease would have been to those suffering from its effects during any time period. I have never even had the chicken pox and therefore did not even have that terrible comparison to draw upon when considering smallpox previously in the limited experience I have had with the subject. It also is not a disease that exists in nature today, only in a secured laboratory, which means that I have not heard anything about the disease even in passing. While that portion of the book might have been a little bit gruesome, I found it necessary to my understanding of how devastating the disease would have been to an already hard-pressed army.

I can understand why a subject like the smallpox epidemic might not be covered in American history survey classes in high school or college. In their grand scheme of imparting the most important information on the American Revolution, it is not absolutely necessary to understand the effects of this disease on the troops. At that stage, the big names and events will serve their purpose and there is usually some general discussion of camp diseases that will vaguely touch on the effects of health on army readiness. However, for a Masters level class or for those who are deeply interested in American history, where we should already have a solid understanding of the basic points of the history, I think that Pox Americana provided another level of valuable analysis to dig deeper into why events transpired how they did and allow us to consider, even tangentially, how history might have been different if not for General Washington’s decision to inoculate the troops at Valley Forge. That decision is just as significant a turning point in the American Revolution as the outcome of the Battle of Saratoga. The rate at which smallpox was devastating the American army was placing it in a dire situation, especially when compared to the relative health of the British regulars; you could almost see the crush of the American troops coming. Knowing this, my opinion of General Washington has thus improved after having considered just how difficult of a decision it was to decide to take the chance with inoculation when so many at the time were against it and his troops so badly needed it. It is a great leader who can justify taking an immense risk as that given all the marks against it. If his great leap of faith had gone wrong, the Americans might have lost the war, but they might have lost even if he did not.

We were only required to read a couple of chapters of this book for class, but I was interested enough to pick it back up and finish the book. It explored all areas of the North American continent and it was interesting to see how the disease effected the regions differently; although I will admit that the chapters assigned were the most interesting.  Some of the later chapters became much more dry resulting in the lower rating. 

While this book was a history of a devastating disease in a localized area, it served an even greater purpose: to bring to light a chronically overlooked, but critical element in the history of the Revolutionary War. The author tells us in her introduction to the book that the outbreak of smallpox killed more people during the war years than resulted from combat with the enemy and that just as much as the war, this epidemic was a defining characteristic for many who lived through that time. Phrases like this do not suggest that the effect of smallpox on the history of the United States should be taken lightly. Disease often kills more people during wartime than the battles do, but it is often the result of many different camp diseases, not just one disease, showing just how powerful smallpox was. Additionally, for something to be a defining characteristic in someone’s life, especially during a time when there was so much change happening in the country to begin with, that means it was perceived to be of vital importance. For these reasons I am grateful to have had the opportunity to explore the topic and further my understanding of the myriad of elements that comprised the American Revolution years. For me, the most eye-opening aspect was the discussion on the differences between how smallpox effected the British troops versus the American troops. Not only did it help me to understand to a greater extent the uphill battle that Washington and his men were facing, but it also helped draw another distinction showing how far the Americans had come from the way of life of the Old World. Other texts have illustrated how their manner of speech had changed and customs began to differ, but nothing is as striking as their susceptibility to a common disease in their former motherland. It is even more interesting when you consider that so many of the indigenous peoples of the Americas died after first contact because of the introduction of this disease by explorers who were not affected by it and that not so many years later, the descendants of these settlers were now being attacked by that very same disease, while again the “invaders” were immune. It makes a very interesting point for further consideration.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• BrothersJudd.com
• Cliosphere

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

You can check out more from this author about this book on this Book TV segment.

Also by Elizabeth Fenn:

Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People

Natives & Newcomers: The Way We Lived in North Carolina before 1770

 

 

DNF Discussion: The Valley by Helen Bryan

The Valley by Helen Bryan
Book 1 in The Valley trilogy
e-book, paperback, and audio, 607 pages
Lake Union Publishing
July 19, 2016
DNF

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from the publisher for review for tour

Book Blurb:

Left suddenly penniless, the Honorable Sophia Grafton, a viscount’s orphaned daughter, sails to the New World to claim the only property left to her name: a tobacco plantation in the remote wilds of colonial Virginia. Enlisting the reluctant assistance of a handsome young French spy—at gunpoint— she gathers an unlikely group of escaped slaves and indentured servants, each seeking their own safe haven in the untamed New World.

What follows will test her courage and that of her companions as they struggle to survive a journey deep into a hostile wilderness and eventually forge a community of homesteads and deep bonds that will unite them for generations.

The first installment in an epic historical trilogy by Helen Bryan, the bestselling author of War Brides and The Sisterhood, The Valley is a sweeping, unforgettable tale of hardship, tenacity, love, and heartache.

I want to first start off by saying that this is NOT a review – I did not read enough of this book to feel comfortable enough to call this a review.  I completed just about 100 pages of this 600 page book before ultimately calling it quits – and for those of you that have been with me for awhile now you know how rare that is.  In fact, it has only happened once before and that was with Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, which I did ultimately finish with the help of the audio version.  I did not make the decision lightly as I am one of those from the camp that intends to finish every book I begin, but this one was just a mess from the start.  Before ultimately making the decision to put the book down I was conflicted, but talking with several other bloggers who were reading it, were at a further page count than I was, and were still also struggling, I made the decision to quit while I was ahead.  So, I wanted to share some thoughts and encourage you to leave comments on your thoughts on the book if you have read it. 

My first issue was with the writing – it could use a serious editing job – and not just for small grammatical things either.  There were entire sections of the novel (even just within those first 100 pages) that could have been purged and the story would have been better for it.  There were even sentences that appeared almost word for word a couple paragraphs after they first appeared on the page, and this happened over and over.  This book quite likely had no reason to be 600+ pages.  The writing was weighed down and clunky and sentence structures were difficult on the ears, such as:

“Sophia felt herself happily in looks tonight and, observing the other girls and the fashionable ladies, saw that her own dress was much the prettiest.”

There are areas where there is a lot of detail – which would be great if it was something that mattered, rather than just superfluous  comments about how the clothing appeared. 

Quite frankly, those first 100 pages didn’t seem to matter to me at all and made no positive impression on me to keep reading.  Considering that this is a sixth of the book, I would think that by that point there should have been something in the book that mattered to the plot and I should have been made to care about what was happening.  I simply had no drive to pick up the book again.  Additionally, if I hadn’t taken notes on this while reading I would have had no recollection of what happened in these 100 pages, which tells you how much it stood out to me.  From what I gather from other reviewers, the story that was promised in the book blurb, which made me want to pick up the book to begin with, didn’t even begin to get moving for almost another 150 pages after the point in which I stopped!  So that means it was almost a third of the way through the book before it really got anywhere – which makes me glad I put it down when I did.

I still find the premise intriguing and if it went through a much more rigorous editing process I might have had a chance of enjoying it.

 

 

Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Movie Review: Farewell, My Queen

Farewell, My Queen

GMT Productions

100 mins.

USA Release: July 13, 2012

Rated: R

Much like a book, I learned from this film that you should not judge a film by its poster, because this one threw me far off. The cover shows Queen Marie Antoinette and her dear friend, the Duchesse de Polignac parting ways before the French royal family fled the palace. Paired with the title, Farewell, My Queen, you would assume this film is about the relationship between the two; but that is not the case. Polignac only comes and goes in a couple small scenes and thus the film poster overstates her importance to the film.

This film is told from the perspective of Agathe-Sidonie who is employed as a reader to the Queen. It follows her as she moves in and out of the realms of servant and royalty giving the viewer glimpses of both worlds at this time of upheaval – which was a useful storytelling device. We are lea to believe that Agathe-Sidonie possibly thinks herself in love with – or at least infatuated with – the Queen, but I never really believed it. I didn’t feel that we got to know her as well as we should have given that she was the point of view character. Diane Kruger plays Marie Antoinette beautifully, sometimes sedate and sometimes a little bit stirred, but a portrayal that felt based in reality rather than caricature, as many portrayals of her are.

The film covers a very short time period, merely days, the height of the turmoil roiling outside the palace just prior to the storming of the Bastille through the end of the royal family. Being insulated mostly within the court, you don’t feel the rising panic until it is too late. What the film does do well is to illustrate just how different the perspective of the court was from what was actually occurring in the city.

This was a beautiful and atmospheric film, which felt even more so for being in the French language. It required a lot of concentration to follow the language and storyline combined, but it was a pleasant film.

Normally I would post a trailer, but I think that it doesn’t represent the film well, so instead I am posting this scene, that was much more true to the tone of the story:

 

 


Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: A Leap in the Dark by John Ferling

 

A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic 

by John Ferling

E-book, 577 pages

Oxford University Press

April 4, 2003

★★★★☆

Genre: Non-Fiction, History

Source: Purchased for my Masters class

It was an age of fascinating leaders and difficult choices, of grand ideas eloquently expressed and of epic conflicts bitterly fought. Now comes a brilliant portrait of the American Revolution, one that is compelling in its prose, fascinating in its details, and provocative in its fresh interpretations.

In A Leap in the Dark, John Ferling offers a magisterial new history that surges from the first rumblings of colonial protest to the volcanic election of 1800. Ferling's swift-moving narrative teems with fascinating details. We see Benjamin Franklin trying to decide if his loyalty was to Great Britain or to America, and we meet George Washington when he was a shrewd planter-businessman who discovered personal economic advantages to American independence. We encounter those who supported the war against Great Britain in 1776, but opposed independence because it was a "leap in the dark." Following the war, we hear talk in the North of secession from the United States. The author offers a gripping account of the most dramatic events of our history, showing just how closely fought were the struggle for independence, the adoption of the Constitution, and the later battle between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Yet, without slowing the flow of events, he has also produced a landmark study of leadership and ideas. Here is all the erratic brilliance of Hamilton and Jefferson battling to shape the new nation, and here too is the passion and political shrewdness of revolutionaries, such as Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, and their Loyalist counterparts, Joseph Galloway and Thomas Hutchinson. Here as well are activists who are not so well known today, men like Abraham Yates, who battled for democratic change, and Theodore Sedgwick, who fought to preserve the political and social system of the colonial past. Ferling shows that throughout this period the epic political battles often resembled today's politics and the politicians--the founders--played a political hardball attendant with enmities, selfish motivations, and bitterness. The political stakes, this book demonstrates, were extraordinary: first to secure independence, then to determine the meaning of the American Revolution.

John Ferling has shown himself to be an insightful historian of our Revolution, and an unusually skillful writer. A Leap in the Dark is his masterpiece, work that provokes, enlightens, and entertains in full measure.

I’m going to preface this by saying that this is part of an opinion review that I wrote for my class, so the style is a little different from my normal reviews, but I still though it would be a valuable contribution to the blog.

I have read widely on the subject of the American Revolution, more than on any other historical subject, and A Leap in the Dark by John Ferling is one of the better ones that I have read. I enjoyed the style in which he writes; it took me a while to read each chapter, but that was because there was a lot of information and new styles of analysis to digest. That being said, it never felt like the flow was bogged down by information that was included just because it had been researched. The book is expansive in the elements that it covers and I did not feel like anything important had been left out.

The text focused on not only the political elements, but also the social issues surrounding the American Revolution. In my experience, a lot of time in other courses and texts is spent on the political implications of the various Acts and taxes imposed by the British Parliament; while this is important, and Ferling does spend time on these areas, I most appreciated how he drilled down into what the motives were behind the different historical figures actions on both sides of the Atlantic. This is where I encountered the most new material and a more well-rounded perspective on the lead up to hostilities; most notably for me were his commentaries on Samuel Adams and the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party was a much more complicated event than the mere surprising coming together of Bostonians to spill the hated tea into the harbor and to understand that makes the interpretation of this iconic event much more significant. Additionally, Samuel Adams deserves a lot more credit for his historical role than just being a rabble rouser. I also appreciated that the author did not limit his in-depth attention to those on the colonial side, but also gave significant background attention to the figures in Parliament and why they were interested in penalizing the colonists despite growing indications of hostilities. This made it easier to understand why the British acted the way they did, even though it may have seemed counterproductive to the large scale goals. Ferling does this well with many other events that occurred during the timeframe covered by this book and I am more knowledgeable for it.

One thing I appreciated that Ferling did not do in his book was spend ample time on the battles of the Revolution. I am not one who likes to read about battlefield logistics and I tend to space out and skim past these sections when they crop up in books I am reading; it is just not an area that interests me. However, I do like to learn about the implications of battlefield decisions or how a singular event or battle factored into the grand scheme of the war. This is exactly what I found in A Leap in the Dark. Ferling brings attention to select battle actions, such as Washington’s attacks at Trenton and Princeton, because they offered significant glimpses into the character of people and reasons why the war was able to continue despite many setbacks. I do not need to know how each battle was carried out, but rather what it meant to the whole of the war. Ferling never lost my attention through these sections.

While I was a fan of most of Ferling’s historical interpretations, he started to lose me when he began the discussions surrounding the animosity between the Federalists and Republicans, particularly Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. I detected a noticeable bias against Hamilton in Ferling’s analysis and a favoring of Jefferson. As historians, we are encouraged to make efforts to keep personal bias out of historical interpretation, but Ferling appears to have had issue with this here. He did not have much nice to say about the man; the closest he came to something kind was when he indicated that latter politicians should have taken a note from Hamilton’s playbook and immediately fess up when caught out in a less than desirable action. The author appears to have went out of his way to highlight all the underhanded things Hamilton did or might have done. While he also discusses the work Jefferson did behind the scenes, the manner in which he discusses these actions comes off in a more positive and respectful manner than when he discusses Hamilton. From a personal perspective, this bothered me more than it might have others because I tend to find myself favoring Hamilton over Jefferson in these discussions, but regardless, Ferling’s treatment of Hamilton felt heavy-handed.

I think that the timeframe that Ferling chose to cover in this book was well chosen. Most would expect that a book on the American Revolution might cover the war exclusively or maybe through the presidency of George Washington, as this would be the real start of the United States as we recognize it now. Ferling chooses to bring the narrative up through the election of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the country. I think this was an excellent choice because everything was still very rocky for the fledgling country up through then and it could have easily foundered. Up until Jefferson’s election, the country had been run by those who had significant roles in the pre-revolution days as well as the founding of the country and led the country in a similar style. With the election of Jefferson it was a transition of power from one political party to another. In many other countries, a shift in political power was accompanied by bloodshed or even the collapse of a newly formed country, and others were waiting to see what would happen to the United States. Here it was a peaceful shift in power which signified the strength of the country to be able to do so and showed the world, and those in the States, that they had made it to a new stage in development; they were arguably no longer in their revolutionary days.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Handful of Sand
• Rantings of a Civil War Historian

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia


Also by John Ferling:

Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence

Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800

John Adams: A Life

The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon

Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation

Independence: The Struggle to Set America Free

Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution

Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War That Won It


Find John Ferling: Website

 


Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Book 2 in the Outlander Series

Unabridged, 38 hr. 58 min.

Recorded Books

Davina Porter (Narrator)

October 26, 2006

★★★★ ½☆

Heat Rating:

Genre: Historical Fiction; Time-Slip; Romance

Source: Downloaded the audiobook from Audible

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ...about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ...and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his...

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ...in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising... and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves...

When I finished reading Outlander, I wanted to both immediately pick up Dragonfly in Amber as well as hold off for a while so that I could just absorb and enjoy my experience with it. In the end, I waited almost a year before having the chance to pick up book two, but not for a second had I forgotten the events of Outlander and felt totally ready to dive into what this next volume would bring. And then I was brought up short and taken aback. You see, Dragonfly in Amber does not pick back up where Outlander left off, it’s set back in modern time with Claire in her fifties and her daughter Brianna well grown. Wait, what? How did this happen? What did I miss? Where is Jamie? These questions and more streamed through my head as I panicked at the start of this novel. And for quite a bit of time we don’t have many answers. I struggled to push myself through these modern day chapters. While I was intrigued at how we got there, I didn’t enjoy them nearly enough for the amount of time that we are in the present with everyone just brooding and not telling each other the whole truth.

When we finally get back to Jamie and Claire, we are now in France, where they were absconding to at the end of Outlander. Here my interest picked up again because we were back in familiar territory and for the most part I enjoyed this part. In typical Gabaldon style, France came to life under her pen as she had previously treated Scotland. I enjoyed, as always, Murtaugh was a favorite comedic break and then there was the addition of a young boy, Fergus, whom Jamie takes under his wing who had some great moments too. Jamie and Claire love each other, betray each other, and hurt each other over and over, as seems to be their typical bent, but I longed for it over and over again.  Also typical Gabaldon style, the sex scenes are hot, hot, hot and plentiful.

Ultimately, the two very disparate parts seemed to come together and you are left with a cliffhanger into Voyager. Again, it left me wanting to pick it up right away, but choosing again to hold out for a bit. I did like this book very much, but not nearly as much as the first book overall.

★★★★★+

I've said it before, and I will say it again, Davina Porter does an excellent job narrating this book with its even wider array of accents, characters, and personalities. She is one of those narrators that I would enjoy listening to over and over again, which is excellent as she narrates much of the Outlander series. Her pacing was perfect and she puts real emotion behind her narration and truly contributed to the feel of this book and bringing the characters to vivid life. Seeing as she is narrating a nearly 40 hour long book it is beneficial that she is enjoyable to listen to.

You can listen to an audio sample below (play symbol) to get a taste of Porter's narration or read these two excerpts of the text for Gabaldon's style: Excerpt 1 | Excerpt 2.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Red Hot Books 
• The Hope Chest Reviews

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Diana Gabaldon:

Virgins (Book 0.5)

Outlander (Book 1)
[My Review]

Voyager (Book 3)

Drums of Autumn (Book 4)

The Fiery Cross (Book 5)

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Book 6)

An Echo in the Bone (Book 7)

The Space Between (Book 7.5)

Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (Book 8)

A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows (Book 8.5)

Diana Gabaldon has also written the Lord John Grey series which is a spinoff of the Outlander series and takes place during the events of Voyager.

Find Diana Gabaldon: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Find Davina Porter: AudioFile Magazine |

 

If you have read the book and are watching Season 2 of the Outlander TV series - how do you think they line up?  I've been hoarding my episodes so I can binge watch them.




Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court