The Maiden's Court

Friday, April 10, 2015

Book Review: The Arming of Europe and the Making of the First World War by David G. Herrmann

The Arming of Europe and the Making of the First World War by David G. Herrmann
Paperback, 322 pages
Princeton University Press
March 3, 1997
★★★☆☆

Genre: Non-fiction

Source: Purchased as required reading for class

“David Herrmann's work is the most complete study to date of how land-based military power influenced international affairs during the series of diplomatic crises that led up to the First World War. Instead of emphasizing the naval arms race, which has been extensively studied before, Herrmann draws on documentary research in military and state archives in Germany, France, Austria, England, and Italy to show the previously unexplored effects of changes in the strength of the European armies during this period. Herrmann's work provides not only a contribution to debates about the causes of the war but also an account of how the European armies adopted the new weaponry of the twentieth century in the decade before 1914, including quick-firing artillery, machine guns, motor transport, and aircraft. In a narrative account that runs from the beginning of a series of international crises in 1904 until the outbreak of the war, Herrmann points to changes in the balance of military power to explain why the war began in 1914, instead of at some other time. Russia was incapable of waging a European war in the aftermath of its defeat at the hands of Japan in 1904-5, but in 1912, when Russia appeared to be regaining its capacity to fight, an unprecedented land- armaments race began. Consequently, when the July crisis of 1914 developed, the atmosphere of military competition made war a far more likely outcome than it would have been a decade earlier.”

The Arming of Europe and the Making of the First World War by David G. Herrmann is a book that I was inclined to dislike from the outset, before even opening to the first pages. I am a self-proclaimed “cover snob” and the cover of this book does not make me want to pick it up to read it. Additionally, the title is uninspiring and actually makes me cringe. A discussion of the armaments leading up to the First World War does not sound like riveting material to someone who does not enjoy an undertaking about the intricacies of actual warfare. When choosing to read about war, I tend to lean more toward societal issues, outcomes, or personal accounts of wartime experiences. These seemingly cosmetic issues made this the book I was least looking forward to reading of all of the required selections for this past semester of my WWI class.

The one thing that I appreciated the most was the chronological progression of events leading up to the First World War. Herrmann covers European events from 1904 to 1914 which gives a sufficient and succinct overview of the time period. He breaks up his chapters into topical events, such as the First Moroccan Crisis and the Balkan Wars, while continuing to maintain his continuously forward progressing chronology. As a reader of history, when encountering a subject for the first time, I prefer to initially study it in its chronological order; a topical study I find more useful after I have a concrete understanding of the event itself. The chronology helps me to understand the progression of events that transpired and how each event contributed to the next. In presenting the decade proceeding the war, Herrmann helped to set the event of the war itself within the wider context of the increasingly militaristic atmosphere building in and around Europe.

I did find the material to be difficult to progress through and also rather dry. One thing that Herrmann is very adept at is providing a multitude of figures. He makes ample references to the numbers of howitzers, pieces of field artillery, and manpower headcounts that various belligerent nations had throughout the decade. While this information might be useful for relative comparisons of the participants, what it did was bog down the flow of the text and caused me to lose track of the real concepts being explored. There is an appendix at the back of the book which presents both peacetime and wartime troop strengths of the various nations. If this material is semi-important enough to be included as the only appendix material, is it necessary to rehash all of it again in the text? I do not think that this was the best way to utilize the page length or the appendices. Conversely, would it possibly have improved the flow of the text to include the tactical strengths of the nations as additional appendix material rather than presenting the raw numbers within the body of the work? I think so.

Overall, Herrmann adequately serves the objective that he set out to accomplish. He does show in depth how Europe increasingly armed itself in response to various events that transpired over the decade leading to the First World War. He also illustrates how seemingly minor events, such as the First Moroccan Crisis, in which nothing really transpired, served to amplify the path toward war. In these two goals, Herrmann succeeds. His style is where this book is flawed. It gets bogged down in specifics and numbers, which the average reader will likely not find any real purpose. While this information is indeed important, if presented in a way that supports the greater message of the book it would be more helpful. While The Arming of Europe and the Making of the First World War was not the terrible book I had in my mind from the outset, I can say that I certainly did not enjoy the experience of reading it.

If you are interested in the book, check out this excerpt.

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

This is author David G. Herrmann's only published work.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Interview with Donna Thorland

Good morning everyone - I hope you are having a fantastic week so far. Today I have the opportunity to welcome Donna Thorland to The Maiden's Court to talk a bit about her new release, Mistress Firebrand. I have thoroughly enjoyed Donna's books, so this was a treat for me. Read on and enjoy!

I love to read novels set in the American Revolution – there are some great stories to tell and the era of intrigue, action, and drama are rife for the creative mind. What led you to choose to write about America in her revolutionary days?

Me too! It’s an amazing era—intrigue and danger and radical politics—but it’s been a tough sell with the general public for the last several decades, and one of the reasons I started writing was to change that. There’s a popular perception that the American Revolution is boring. There are a lot of reasons for that, but a big part of it is the tendency to re-write the Revolution as a story of good guys versus bad guys: resourceful American patriots against arrogant, mustache-twirling redcoats. The truth is that most of the people caught up in the Revolution had deeply conflicted loyalties that changed over time. That’s not just better history, it’s better storytelling. A good number of the British commanders over the course of the war were American sympathizers. And many on the American side weren’t interested in Independence at the beginning of the war. My hope is that the books will get readers—and other authors too—excited about the period in all its complexity—and then you and I will have more books to read!

I sure hope to see that too!

In the description of Mistress Firebrand it indicates that the heroine is on the "hanging list". Does that mean exactly what it sounds like? Were women hanged during the American Revolution?

Mercy Otis Warren was supposedly placed on a "hanging list" for her seditious plays. I’ve seen this referenced a number of places, including in Williamsburg’s online curriculum. I spent a lot of time trying to track this idea down to a primary source, but from what I’ve been able to discover, the existence of the “hanging list” was inferred from letters written by John Adams after the war. The British certainly pursued strategies to capture and hang Rebels like John Hancock and Samuel Adams early in the war, so the idea is certainly credible, and it formed the kernel of the story in Mistress Firebrand. Warren never wrote for the stage or acted. Her plays were intended to be read in pamphlet form or perhaps staged at home in “cabinet” performances. I decided to make Jenny an actress and a playwright because this was the era of truly remarkable women on the Georgian stage, including actress, novelist, playwright and early feminist Mary Robinsons, who served as the model for the character of Jenny’s Aunt Frances, the Divine Fanny.

Did the name of your lead male in Mistress Firebrand have a name change? I remember in promotional material during The Rebel Pirate it described him as Banastre Tarleton, but he now appears to be named Severin Devere. If this is the same character, any significance in the name change?

Wow! You’ve got a fantastic memory! I had wanted Banastre Tarleton, who became Mary Robinson’s lover after the war, to play a larger part in the book since he was one of the many British officers with connections to the theater, but as the story evolved I decided that he was too young and too junior during the main action in Mistress Firebrand to be one of Jenny’s antagonists, and so John Burgoyne stepped forward to fill the role. Tarleton is such a fascinating historical character, though, that he’s going to have to take a leading role in one of my future books. I did manage to sneak him into this one in an un-credited cameo that eagle eyed history buffs will enjoy!

I will have to keep my eyes open!

What would you say is the most useful source you used while writing Mistress Firebrand and why would you classify it as such?

The theater was highly politicized in Early America and especially so during the Revolution. Congress banned the theater and many saw it as a British extravagance, while Washington encouraged his officers to stage amateur theatricals at Valley Forge and the British took over the playhouses in every city they occupied.

As recently as ten years ago there was a dearth of great scholarship on the subject, but a raft of recent publications have changed that. The Oxford Handbook of the Georgian Theatre was a huge help, as was Odai Johnson’s Absence and Memory in Colonial Theater and his Colonial American Stage, 1665-1774: A Documentary Calendar.

With 3 novels under your belt now that are loosely part of the same series, what can you say about the experience? Was any one of them more difficult to write? Why classify them as a series when they are each more of a stand-alone book with distinctly different events and characters?

The books can be read in any order, but there’s a character that recurs throughout the series, the Widow, and her presence links these stories together in a shared world. What they also have in common is that they’re set in a corner of the Revolution that you didn’t hear about in school and they put a smart, resourceful, relatable woman at the center of the action.

My second book, The Rebel Pirate, was the hardest to write, because it takes place in my adoptive home-town of Salem and was inspired by the historical women whose lives I studied while working at the Peabody Essex Museum. I wanted to write something that was faithful to the spirit of their struggles—but that also fulfilled the promise of the swashbuckling premise of Rebel privateers. And of course Salem is a city of scholars and history buffs so I knew I had to get the details right.

The Renegades of the Revolution series was intended to be a trilogy. Is this still the case or are you planning on more adventures set in the American Revolution? If not, anything you can tell us about what you are working on next?

I’m already working on Book 4! The Dutch Girl is going to feature a school teacher heroine and a highwayman hero and it’s set in the almost feudal patroonships of the Hudson River Valley where tenant riots took place throughout the war. I can’t wait to share it with you in March 2016.

Yay! That is super exciting to hear! I can't wait to read it. Keep up the awesome work and thank you for dropping by the blog!

A native of Bergenfield, New Jersey, Donna graduated from Yale with a degree in Classics and Art History. For many years she managed architecture and interpretation at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, and wrote and directed the Witch City’s most popular Halloween theater festival, Eerie Events. She later earned an MFA in film production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Donna has been a sorority house mother, a Disney/ABC Television Writing Fellow, a WGA Writer’s Access Project Honoree, and a writer on the ABC primetime drama, Cupid. Her screenwriting credits include episodes of the animated series, Tron: Uprising. Her short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Albedo One. The director of several award-winning short films, her most recent project, The Night Caller, aired on WNET Channel 13 and was featured on Ain’t It Cool News. Currently she is a writer on the WGN drama SALEM. She is married with one cat and divides her time between the real Salem and Los Angeles.

Find Donna Thorland: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

British Occupied Manhattan, 1777. American actress Jenny Leighton has been packing the John Street Theater with her witty comedies, but she longs to escape the provincial circuit for the glamour of the London stage. When the playwright General John Burgoyne visits the city, fresh from a recent success in the capitol, she seizes the opportunity to court his patronage. But her plan is foiled by British intelligence officer Severin Devere.
Severin’s mission is to keep the pleasure-loving general focused on the war effort…and away from pretty young actresses. But the tables are turned when Severin himself can’t resist Jenny Leighton…
Months later, Jenny has abandoned her dreams of stage glory and begun writing seditious plays for the Rebels under the pen name “Cornelia,” ridiculing “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne and his army—and undermining the crown’s campaign to take Albany. With Jenny’s name now on the hanging list, Severin is ordered to find her—and deliver her to certain death. Soon, the two are launched on a desperate journey through the wilderness, toward an uncertain future shaped by the revolution—and their passion for each other…

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Book Review: The Zimmermann Telegram by Barbara W. Tuchman

The Zimmermann Telegram by Barbara Tuchman
Paperback, 256 pages
Random House
March 12, 1985
★★★★☆

Genre: Non-fiction

Source: Purchased for assigned reading for WWI class

“In January 1917, the war in Europe was, at best, a tragic standoff. Britain knew that all was lost unless the United States joined the war, but President Wilson was unshakable in his neutrality. At just this moment, a crack team of British decoders in a quiet office known as Room 40 intercepted a document that would change history. The Zimmermann telegram was a top-secret message to the president of Mexico, inviting him to join Germany and Japan in an invasion of the United States. How Britain managed to inform the American government without revealing that the German codes had been broken makes for an incredible story of espionage and intrigue as only Barbara W. Tuchman could tell it.”

Author Barbara W. Tuchman does an excellent job of bringing to light all of the detailed little events that transpired in the lead up to the decision for the United States to enter the war on the side of the Allies. The Zimmerman Telegram was one of the last attempts, of many made by Germany, to tie up the United States in its wartime belligerency with events on its own side of the Atlantic, thus allowing Germany to execute their submarine plan to bring Britain to its knees in a matter of months. Within a very short amount of pages, Tuchman clearly and concisely elucidates the leading actions as well as the immediate aftermath of the telegram’s revelation. Despite being published in the 1950s, her work is still relevant today, albeit with some criticisms.

One of the great strengths of this work is that it is written as narrative non-fiction. The events covered by this book effortlessly lend themselves to this style of writing. Each act of espionage and the inner machinations of Britain’s ubiquitous Room 40 read like the events of a James Bond novel. Tuchman equally infuses the narrative with fact as well with a writing style that oozes modern day action thriller. With no trouble I could envision this facet of history of the First World War playing out on screen today.

By focusing the scope of her work tightly on this signature event in the entrance of the United States into the war, Tuchman is able to bring forward the real importance of the proposed German/Mexican/Japanese alliance. The Zimmermann Telegram is often covered in works on the First World War, however in all of the books I have read on the subject I never felt the importance or believable reality of this alliance. Tuchman spends chapters explaining how during this time period the United States was concerned with the very real threat that Mexico, with the aid of the Germans or the Japanese, could bring to them at home.

One of the things that should be noted is that this book was originally published in 1958. This brings up the issue that some facts surrounding this event have had to be inferred because a lot of the information was still concealed at the time of publication (and even after the revision in 1966). Tuchman speaks to this point to some extent in her author’s note. I have not read anything else this in-depth on this event, but it does make me wonder if in the last sixty years any additional information has been released from various archives that changes the perception of these events. Maybe an exploration of a more recently published book on this subject would be beneficial to my understanding of these events to serve as a comparison to Tuchman’s work.

My one real critique of The Zimmermann Telegram is that Tuchman does occasionally allow for her bias and opinions to bleed into her writing. I know that it can be a very difficult exercise to refrain from including bias in non-fiction writing, but that is a general expectation in non-fiction. One example (of many) in the text of the author’s visible bias is as follows, “Field Marshal von Hindenburg, despite a vague uneasiness stirring the heavy processes of his mind, had allowed himself to be persuaded by his demonic colleague, General Ludendorff” (Tuchman 126). Even just this little slip in the use of the word “demonic” to describe General Ludendorff can show the reader the author’s bias toward the man, certainly, but they could further infer (correctly or not) her views on Germany and Germans in general. It certainly made me wonder if I should believe her account entirely or question it to some extent.

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

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

Also by Barbara Tuchman:

The Guns of August

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914

The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45

The First Salute

Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour

Find Barbara Tuchman: Random House Website

Monday, April 6, 2015

Guest Post by Jan Moran & Tour Wide Giveaway

Today I have the opportunity to welcome author Jan Moran to The Maiden's Court. Moran is the author of Scent of Triumph and is here today to talk about the vintage perfumes: Fracas and Indiscret. Stay tuned at the end of the post for a chance to enter a tour wide giveaway.

Fracas and Indiscret

Guest Post by Jan Moran, Author of
Scent of Triumph

Thank you for allowing me to take over your blog for today to celebrate the debut of SCENT OF TRIUMPH, my historical novel from St. Martin’s Press. SCENT OF TRIUMPH is about a French perfumer and couturier during World War II, and I drew a great deal on my prior background in the perfume industry. (I created a touch-screen fragrance finder, which Sephora acquired and branded FragranceIQ.)

The main character in the story is Danielle Bretancourt. As an artist, she often observes the world through her olfactory sense, or her sense of smell, which is well trained. As I researched and wrote, I paid particular attention to historical fragrances.

The history behind these perfumes—of their perfumers and couturiers—is often fascinating. The stories of the couturiers behind Fracas (Robert Piguet) and Indiscret (Lucien Lelong) reveal many World War II hardships. In fact, both fell from the market, and decades later, each one of these perfumes was resurrected and relaunched, so they are still available today.

Fracas is an explosive tuberose fragrance, a romantic harbinger of spring. Created by Germaine Cellier, one of the few female perfumers of the 1940s, Fracas is a post-World War II era fragrance, and reflects the joy that people felt after the end of the war. Indiscret, from couturier Lucien Lelong, hails from 1936, but Lelong was professionally active during World War II, and was lauded for keeping the fashion industry in Paris alive during the war.

For SCENT OF TRIUMPH readers, Indiscret would have been in vogue at the beginning of the book, while Fracas would correspond to the period at the end of the book.

Fracas by Robert Piguet (1948) – Fracas, by Parisian couturier Robert Piguet, is a classic French floral bouquet, bursting with the white flowers for which Grasse is famous. Fracas, meaning “violet noise” in French, is a cacophony of tuberose, an expansive white floral. The tuberose flower has a scent so intense, a single stalk will drench a room with intoxicating, sensual scent. Free-spirited female perfumer Germaine Cellier created the Fracas formula for Piguet, which was launched just after World War II.

Piguet was known for his designs of simple elegance. During World War II, Nazi orders directed the top couture houses to relocate to Berlin. Piguet rebelled and resisted, and rode out the war in occupied Paris, continuing his work in fashion and fragrance. During this period he commissioned Cellier to develop Fracas and Bandit, two fragrant points of light in a dark time of history. Today, after a lengthy absence, both fragrances have returned to the market.

Heady, mysterious, frank sensuality—the hallmark of Fracas is obvious. It’s retro-glamour at its finest.

Indiscret by Lucien Lelong (1936) – Indiscret is one of the great classic fragrances of the twentieth century and the legacy of Lucien Lelong, renowned French couturier. Introduced in 1936, this magnificent perfume faded from the scene after Lelong’s death, but was lovingly resurrected in 1997 by until Lelong perfume and couture collectors Arnold Hayward Neis and his wife, Lucy de Puig Neis.

Rich and dramatic, Indiscret is a fragrance of impeccable pedigree. After being awarded the French Croix de Guerre for his efforts in World War I, Lucien Lelong opened his first maison de couture in 1919. By 1937, he was elected president of the French Fashion Syndicate, the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Française.

While Nazi troops occupied France from 1940 to 1945, Lelong toiled to keep the French fashion industry alive by foiling German attempts to move the industry to Berlin. He is widely credited with maintaining the fashion industry in Paris during World War II and, in the process, keeping some three hundred thousand people employed in various aspects of the industry. Among Lelong’s staff were Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Dior, and Pierre Balmain, who later made their own marks in the world of fashion and fragrance.

In 1924, Lelong embarked upon his fragrant journey by establishing the Societé des Parfums Lucien Lelong. A prolific entrepreneur, he created more than twenty-five fragrances. Among them were lettered scents: N (for his wife, Princess Nathalie Paley), J, L, A, B, and C. Many of his fragrances masqueraded under different names in English-speaking markets: La Première (Opening Night), Orgueil (Pride), Joli Bouquet (Pretty Bouquet), Murmure (Whisper), and Mon Image (My Image). One of the most popular of these scents was Indiscret, the scent Arnold and Lucy Neis chose to commemorate the ideals of Lucien Lelong.

Indiscret, meaning “indiscreet,” was reformulated with care by the French perfume house of Mane. The dramatic soul of the original formula prevails: sensual, captivating, expressive, sophisticated. Yesteryear’s glamour is artfully blended with a new, modern attitude. Today’s Indiscret features fresh top notes of mandarin, orange blossom and orange flower, with a green lift of galbanum. Following is an intensely feminine heart of jasmine, rose, and tuberose, with a twist of cypress and violet leaves, and finishing with a sultry, long-lasting base of sandalwood, amber, and vetiver. Indiscret is a fragrance for the art of grand living.

A sculptor and glass collector, Lelong favored glass for his bottle designs. Most of Lelong’s many and varied bottles are priceless collectibles today. In designing the Indiscret bottle, Lelong draped a silk handkerchief and said, “That is how I want the Indiscret bottle to look—as if they were folds of classical drapery.” Bottle designer Marc Rosen served as a consultant in the re-creation of the Indiscret bottle. Faithful to Lelong’s original vision, Indiscret is captured in a frosted glass bottle, then nestled in brilliant fuschia satin, and boxed in shades of black and gold.

Finally, with deep admiration, this author bids a fond adieu to the man who left this world the day she entered it (May 10th). Perhaps we passed in the corridor of life…

Book Extras

In SCENT OF TRIUMPH, the protagonist, Danielle Bretancourt, is a third generation perfumer. Perfumery is her profession and her passion, so genuine vintage perfumes from the period were important to the story and setting. As you might imagine, I could only include a small amount of historical detail without slowing down the saga, so I compiled some of this research into another book, VINTAGE PERFUMES. For a limited time, if you buy SCENT OF TRIUMPH, simply email a receipt or a take a selfie with the book or your ereader, and I’ll send you a free digital PDF edition of Vintage Perfumes as a thank-you.

If you’re in a book club, or want to experience vintage perfumes as you read, I’ve included a Reader’s Guide in the book, and a vintage perfume “aromatrack” on my site so you can explore more classic perfumes. Thank you again to my host, and I hope everyone enjoys reading SCENT OF TRIUMPH.

Jan Moran is a Rizzoli bestselling and award winning author. She writes historical women’s fiction for St. Martin’s Press, contemporary women’s fiction, and nonfiction books. Her stories are smart and stylish, and written with emotional depth. Jan often draws on her international travel and business experiences, infusing her books with realistic details. The Midwest Book Review and Kirkus have recommended her books, calling her heroines strong, complex, and resourceful.

Jan has been featured in numerous publications and on television and radio, including CNN, Women’s Wear Daily, Allure, InStyle, and O Magazine. As an editor and writer, she has covered fragrance, beauty, and spa travel for a variety of publications such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, Costco Connection, and Porthole Cruise.

A perfume and beauty industry expert, she is the creator of Scentsa, a touch screen fragrance finder in Sephora stores.

From Jan: “I love smart and fierce female protagonists. I hope you enjoy these books, and if you’d like to Skype me into your book club meeting, simply send me a message!”

The Scent of Triumph

Book Blurb:

When French perfumer Danielle Bretancourt steps aboard a luxury ocean liner, leaving her son behind in Poland with his grandmother, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever. The year is 1939, and the declaration of war on the European continent soon threatens her beloved family, scattered across many countries. Traveling through London and Paris into occupied Poland, Danielle searches desperately for her the remains of her family, relying on the strength and support of Jonathan Newell-Grey, a young captain. Finally, she is forced to gather the fragments of her impoverished family and flee to America. There she vows to begin life anew, in 1940s Los Angeles.
Through determination and talent, she rises high from meager jobs in her quest for success as a perfumer and fashion designer to Hollywood elite. Set between privileged lifestyles and gritty realities, Scent of Triumph is one woman’s story of courage, spirit, and resilience.

Now what you have all been waiting for...the giveaway!! The giveaway is for one signed copy of Scent of Triumph.

This is a tour-wide giveaway and the rules are provided to me by the tour company. Good luck!

Giveaway starts on April 1st at 12:01am EST and ends at 11:59pm EST on April 17th.
Giveaway is open to residents in the US only and you must be 18 or older to enter.
Winners will be chosen via GLEAM on April 18th and notified via email.
Winners have 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Please email Amy @ hfvirtualbooktours@gmail.com with any questions.

Scent of Triumph

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Friday, April 3, 2015

Book Review: Race to Tibet by Sophie Schiller

Race to Tibet by Sophie Schiller
E-Book, 342 pages
Tradewinds Publishing
January 14, 2015
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from publisher for review for France Book Tours

"An intrepid band of explorers headed by Gabriel Bonvalot, France’s greatest explorer, and his partner, Prince Henri d’Orléans, attempt to be the first living Europeans to reach Lhasa. Before they leave Paris, Bonvalot meets Camille Dancourt, the beautiful, strong-willed wife of a French surveyor who disappeared in Tibet, who desperately wishes to join the expedition. When the caravan sets out they face freezing temperatures, violent winds, mountain sickness, hostile Tibetans, duplicitous Chinese Mandarins, and a beguiling Tibetan Buddhist princess with a deadly secret. When the explorers reach Tibet, they discover a land of mystery and intrigue, a land of danger that promises them only one thing: death. On the verge of collapse, Bonvalot realizes they must resort to deadly force if they ever wish to escape Tibet alive."

Race to Tibet is a true adventure story – the characters traverse some of the most dangerous locations of their time (and probably still today). The author makes it clear to the reader just how terrible the circumstances were of their expedition – the cold, the mountain elevation illness, predators, bandits, severe storms, etc. No one seemed to want the travelers to make it to Tibet. It had to be almost an art-form attempting to get there. I know that I would never have survived that expedition if I was a part of it! At times the story becomes bogged down in the monotony of the misery of the cold, mountain sickness, and the question of if they will ever actually make it to Tibet. They could never catch a break and I wanted them to just reach Tibet or not.

One of the strangest elements of the book so far is the seemingly “is he real or isn’t he real” character of Przewalski. Even after having finished the book I still haven’t been able to determine if he is just a very vivid manifestation of Bonvalot’s mind or if he is actually still alive (since he is supposed to be dead at the start of the novel). I don’t know if I am supposed to question Bonvalot’s sanity or if it is some mystery element.

Unlike many historical fiction novels, 98% of the characters in this book are male – there are two female characters, although only one of them do we really get to know well. It is a much needed element, to break up all of that testosterone on this expedition – even though it would have been very odd for a female to be on an expedition of this sort. Camille Dancort helps to make life more difficult for Bonvalot as he now has to keep his eye on a woman as well as leading the expedition. I actually enjoy this male lead, action adventure.

For the most part the narrative flowed well. We see the world through the various viewpoints of the explorers mixed throughout in no defined structure. The only point where this did not work well was at one point when we abruptly switch to the viewpoint of a native Tibetan (for the length of a paragraph). This abrupt shift in perspective pulled me out of the narrative. I think it would have been more effective to leave this part out.

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

Also by Sophie Schiller:

Spy Island

About the Author:

Sophie Schiller was born in Paterson, NJ and grew up in the West Indies. Among other oddities her family tree contains a Nobel prize-winning physicist and a French pop singer. She loves stories that carry the reader back in time to exotic and far-flung locations. She was educated at American University, Washington, DC and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is currently at work on a new historical thriller set in the Caribbean.

Find Sophie Schiller: Website | Facebook | Twitter

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France Book Tours webpage for Race to Tibet

Giveaway!

**Please note that these giveaways are tour-wide and the rules are set and giveaway hosted by the tour coordinator**

There are lots of great giveaways up for grabs on this tour. Enter the prizes below by completing the form.

There are 5 books up for grabs. International giveaway - Print/digital for US/Canada residents, Digital for other countries.

Entry -Form

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Book Review: Mademoiselle Chanel by C.W. Gortner

Mademoiselle Chanel by C.W. Gortner
ARC, e-Book, 416 pages
William Morrow
March 17, 2015
★★★★☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from publisher for review for France Book Tours

"For readers of “The Paris Wife” and “Z” comes this vivid novel full of drama, passion, tragedy, and beauty that stunningly imagines the life of iconic fashion designer Coco Chanel—the ambitious, gifted laundrywoman’s daughter who revolutionized fashion, built an international empire, and became one of the most influential and controversial figures of the twentieth century.
Born into rural poverty, Gabrielle Chanel and her siblings are sent to an orphanage after their mother’s death. The sisters nurture Gabrielle’s exceptional sewing skills, a talent that will propel the willful young woman into a life far removed from the drudgery of her childhood.
Transforming herself into Coco—a seamstress and sometime torch singer—the petite brunette burns with ambition, an incandescence that draws a wealthy gentleman who will become the love of her life. She immerses herself in his world of money and luxury, discovering a freedom that sparks her creativity. But it is only when her lover takes her to Paris that Coco discovers her destiny.
Rejecting the frilly, corseted silhouette of the past, her sleek, minimalist styles reflect the youthful ease and confidence of the 1920s modern woman. As Coco’s reputation spreads, her couturier business explodes, taking her into rarefied society circles and bohemian salons. But her fame and fortune cannot save her from heartbreak as the years pass. And when Paris falls to the Nazis, Coco is forced to make choices that will haunt her.
An enthralling novel of an extraordinary designer who created the life she desired, Mademoiselle Chanel explores the inner world of a woman of staggering ambition whose strength, passion and artistic vision would become her trademark."

Mademoiselle Chanel is author C.W. Gortner’s first foray into more of a contemporary historical fiction novel setting and he excels here just as he does elsewhere! Turn of the 20^th century Paris is vastly different than the 16^th century settings of his prior novels, but he brings it to brilliant life.

Gabrielle Chanel had a tough life growing up, but through persistence, hard work, and a little bit of luck, she was able to pull herself (and some of her family) up from poverty into the world where she rubbed elbows with duchesses and other elite. It was amazing seeing her entirely recreate herself and truly make her life her own – when it was pretty much a blank slate to begin with. She was a very interesting woman at a very different historical time. Women were just starting to break out of the stereotype roles – Chanel fought against a lot of adversity from men and other women as she sought to build her own shop/empire.

While Chanel was a powerhouse in her own right, her life does seem to have been delineated into chapters by the men in her life: her father, Étienne Balsan, Arthur “Boy” Capel, the Russian Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich, Duke of Westminster Hugh “Bendor” Grosvenor, and Paul Iribe. She wasn’t defined by these men, but they each brought something to the development of the Chanel brand and the woman herself. Some of these relationships were real emotional relationships while others were more of relationships of opportunity. It was fascinating the see this evolution.

Gortner’s descriptions of Paris, the convents, and the rich estates that Chanel moved through are beautiful and allow the reader to be able to visualize it in its entirety. I have never been to Paris and have not have much experience reading about this city or time period, so I do not have a lot of pre-conceived knowledge to work with, but I can picture each setting brilliantly.

Gortner also is magnificent at evoking emotions from his readers and that is present here as well. Chanel faces some losses in her life and I admit to shedding a few tears at least once – and I did not even know the characters for all that long! That is saying something!

While I can say that I still prefer Gortner’s 16^th century novels, he is quite successful in the 20^th as well!

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Also by C.W. Gortner:

The Last Queen

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
[My Review]

The Queen’s Vow
[My Review]

The Tudor Secret (Book 1 Elizabeth I Spymaster trilogy)
[My Review]

The Tudor Conspiracy (Book 2 Elizabeth I Spymaster trilogy)
[My Review]

The Tudor Vendetta (Book 3 Elizabeth I Spymaster trilogy)
[My Review]

About the Author:

C.W. Gortner is the international bestselling author of six historical novels, translated in over twenty-five languages to date. His new novel, “Mademoiselle Chanel”, traces the tumultuous rise to fame of iconic fashion designer, Coco Chanel. In 2016, Random House will publish his eighth novel, “Vatican Princess”, about Lucrezia Borgia.

Raised in Spain and a long-time resident of the Bay Area, C.W. is also dedicated to companion animal rescue from overcrowded shelters.

Find C.W. Gortner: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Subscribe to Gortner's Newsletter

Follow the Tour!

France Book Tours Webpage for Mademoiselle Chanel

Giveaway!

**Please note that these giveaways are tour-wide and the rules are set and giveaway hosted by the tour coordinator**

There are lots of great giveaways up for grabs on this tour! To enter to win one of the following four prizes, please complete the giveaway form below.

Open to US only.

There will be 6 winners:

5 printed copies
1 beautiful, handcrafted beaded bracelet inspired by Coco’s black-and-white signature colors and camellia design

mademoiselle-chanel-bracelet-e1426264742316

Entry -Form

Friday, March 27, 2015

In-Progress Review & Giveaway: Race to Tibet by Sophie Schiller

Race to Tibet by Sophie Schiller
E-Book, 342 pages
Tradewinds Publishing
January 14, 2015

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from publisher for review for France Book Tours

"An intrepid band of explorers headed by Gabriel Bonvalot, France’s greatest explorer, and his partner, Prince Henri d’Orléans, attempt to be the first living Europeans to reach Lhasa. Before they leave Paris, Bonvalot meets Camille Dancourt, the beautiful, strong-willed wife of a French surveyor who disappeared in Tibet, who desperately wishes to join the expedition. When the caravan sets out they face freezing temperatures, violent winds, mountain sickness, hostile Tibetans, duplicitous Chinese Mandarins, and a beguiling Tibetan Buddhist princess with a deadly secret. When the explorers reach Tibet, they discover a land of mystery and intrigue, a land of danger that promises them only one thing: death. On the verge of collapse, Bonvalot realizes they must resort to deadly force if they ever wish to escape Tibet alive."

Please note this is an in-process review (I swear I do finish books! It has just been a crazy couple weeks). A full review will be forth coming. I am approximately two-thirds of the way through the book at this point. [Full Review Posted on 4/3/15]

One of the strangest elements of the book so far is the seemingly “is he real or isn’t he real” character of Przewalski. I haven’t yet determined if he is just a very vivid manifestation of Bonvalot’s mind or if he is actually still alive (since he is supposed to be dead at the start of the novel). I don’t know if I am supposed to question Bonvalot’s sanity or if it is some mystery element – I’m sure that will pan out more as the book resolves.

Unlike many historical fiction novels, 98% of the characters in this book are male – there is one female character (at least so far), Camille Dancourt. It is a much needed element, to break up all of that testosterone on this expedition – even though it would have been very odd for a female to be on an expedition of this sort. She helps to make life more difficult for Bonvalot as he now has to keep his eye on a woman as well as leading the expedition. I actually enjoy this male lead, action adventure.

The author does a great job of keeping the tension high as the group treks through the mountains. You never can get quite comfortable! They are just reaching what will likely be the most dangerous part of their expedition – so I look forward to seeing how this whole thing resolves.

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

Also by Sophie Schiller:

Spy Island

About the Author:

Find Sophie Schiller: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Follow the Tour!

France Book Tours webpage for Race to Tibet

Giveaway!

**Please note that these giveaways are tour-wide and the rules are set and giveaway hosted by the tour coordinator**

There are lots of great giveaways up for grabs on this tour. Enter the prizes below by completing the form.

There are 5 books up for grabs. International giveaway - Print/digital for US/Canada residents, Digital for other countries.

Entry -Form

About Me

Heather, 30, USA. Hi everyone! I started my blog, The Maiden's Court, in May 2009 as a creative outlet for my reading and it has completely taken me to new places. I love sharing my reading and the things that I learn.

On my blog you will find my honest reviews of historical fiction books, historical movie reviews, and interesting historical content among other things. If you would like to know more about me, check out the About Me. Feel free to contact me at any time - best way is to use the contact form at the bottom of the Review Policy page or email me at dolleygurl[at]hotmail[dot]com.

Attention Authors, Publishers, Blog Tour Organizers! I would love to hear from you if you have a book that you would like for me to consider for review. Check out my review policy and then contact me with the pitch.