The Diamond Eye is an excellent fictionalized retelling of the life of the legendary Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko (called Mila in the book). Lyundmila was an infamously deadly Soviet sniper (incidentally, born in Kiyv) who is credited with killing over 300 Nazis during World War II. She was so good at her job, she earned the…
The worldwide fascination inspired by the six Mitford sisters continues apace, as might that inspired by any family which managed to spawn an ardent communist activist journalist whose investigation of the funeral industry made history, an anti-communist internationally famous novelist, two Hitler-loving fascists (one quite literally so), a country girl, and the Duchess of Devonshire…
Emily’s House is a well-observed slice of historical fiction that takes a working-class look into the life of Emily Dickinson and her maid, Margaret Maher…with one large fly buzzing in its otherwise soothing ointment. Emily Dickinson’s relationship with Margaret Maher has been valorized for years by students of Dickinson’s poetry. A personal maid working in…
The second daughter of the Queens’ close friend, the Scottish Duke of Buccleuch, Lady Margaret Montagu Scott is expected to make an advantageous marriage. But Margaret is an impulsive and outspoken girl in a repressive society where women are, quite literally, caged in corsets and required to conform. When Lady Margaret’s parents arrange a society…
When I opened up A Most English Princess to begin I was a little miffed at myself. Over 500 pages on Princess Vicky (eldest daughter of Queen Victoria) – what was I thinking to pick this book to review!?! Well it turns out to have been a good decision after all. A Most English Princess…
Darin Strauss came up with The Queen of Tuesday by asking himself one question – what if his philandering insurance salesman grandfather, Isidore- Iz – Strauss had met actress and sitcom queen Lucille Ball at a benefit thrown by Donald Trump’s father – which they both actually attended – and started a torrid affair. Well. …
Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters is a perfectly okay slice of historical fiction that ends up getting subsumed in too dry, too technical prose. While Chiaverini tries to balance the points of view of a slew of Mary Todd Lincoln’s sisters, they often come off as rather plain of speech. Elizabeth, Frances, Mary, Ann and Emilie Todd…
I don’t think I’ve ever said anything like this before, but I’m honestly not sure I have the ability to convey how dreadful a book The Queen’s Secret is. I’ll start with some basic math: I can read a good book in a day. It took me thirty-three days to read this one. In 1939,…
Sarah Bernhardt’s life was destined to grab headlines. The first actress of international acclaim, she drew eyes and plaudits – and controversy and criticism – wherever she trod the boards. But Bernhardt’s life was also no picnic. Given to a stranger to be raised, she was the daughter of a high-class courtesan, her biological father…
In American Princess, novelist Stephanie Thornton peels back the layers of Alice Roosevelt, oldest daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt. During her father’s presidency, which began in 1901, Alice was the media’s darling, dubbed America’s Princess by those who paid close attention to every facet of her life. Alice was a woman ahead of her time….