Habits of the House

The setting is Belgrave Square, London 1899. Very fashionable. Lady Isobel and Lord Robert Dilberne live there along with their two adult children: Rosina, a new and modern thinking woman and their son, Arthur, who just loves to live for the moment. The Dilbernes are living off the remains of the original family fortune and the money that Isobel brought to the marriage from her father, the coal baron. Despite her low birth Isobel married well and has been accepted into London society.

Robert receives word that a gold mine he invested heavily in has been flooded during an attack in the Boer War. This news is received from Eric Baum, his lordship's financial adviser. Baum is worried because he has lent Dilberne money and knows the precarious financial situation of the family. Bad investments and free spending have brought the family to the brink of financial ruin.

Baum feels the family gives him no respect judging by their behavior even though he has as much money as they do. The Prince of England personally recommended Baum as an adviser. Once the family realizes  they may have to declare bankruptcy and be ruined, they decide the only way to survive is to have Arthur marry an American heiress. Since the debutante season is over they have to rely on late visitors. Lucky for them, Minnie, a beautiful heiress to a meatpacking fortune from Chicago arrives. Her reputation at home is not good, but times are desperate for the Dilbernes.

This book is reminiscent of Downton Abbey and since I'm a fan of that show, I loved this book. The women - Minnie and Rosina - are "modern" for the time, while Arthur is a throwback. Their Lordships are clueless and Minnie's mother, the wonderful Tess O'Brien makes everybody look like they are hiding something. The servants are loyal and the business partners are not. The Habits of the House gives an intimate look at the workings of this house. Wonderful! Also available is part 2:  Long Live the King.

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Venice: A New History

As far as unique cities go, vehicle-free swamp-situated Venice must be near the top of anyone's list. This, as well as the fact that I was planning a trip there this summer, made me excited to see Thomas Madden's Venice: A New History arrive at the library. These days Venice has a reputation as a museum city that is kept alive by tourists serenaded by gondoliers but, as this book makes clear, Venice has dynamic history in which they were once a naval and mercantile power.

The question that this book starts by addressing is "why Venice?" Why form a city among swampy islands? Venetians can almost give credit to Attila the Hun as a city founder since his destruction of the land-based city of Aquileia drove future Venetians to the islands in retreat. A future invasion by Charlemagne's son led them to unite and defend the least attractive part of the lagoon, which would become the city of Venice.

Being forced into an uninhabitable marsh led the Venetians to form a unique culture based on mercantilism. Unlike landlocked nations, the land available for growing crops and raising livestock was very limited, forcing Venetians to the sea where they successfully began trading with Constantinople, Cyprus and other Mediterranean nations. Eventually, against some Venetians' best judgment, they also began acquiring colonies on the mainland, leading them to become an empire by the 15th Century (though it would decline following the rise of the Turks in the 16th Century).

Madden also spends much of the book covering Venice's unique political system, which was a republic that lasted more than thirteen centuries - a time period during which most other governments were being ruled by royalty or dictators. Madden feels that it was the pragmatism of mercantile Venice that made them so successful in not letting one person gain too much power. The political system and people of Venice were always interested in stability and were thus able to deal with threats of despotism. It was only Napoleon's conquest that made them give up the form of government that at the time was the world's longest-surviving republic.

This book is also to be commended in its gripping storytelling of the battles, often taking place during the various Crusades to which Venice committed itself. Overall this is an excellent portrait of how a unique city in both geography and temperament became what it is now. The main problem that some of you might face in reading this book is that you will soon find yourself planning a trip to Venice to explore the history that Madden describes!

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The Secrets of Mary Bowser

Mary Bowser was a real person, born a slave in Richmond, freed and then educated in the North, who returned to the South and became a Union spy during the Civil War. Few details are known about Mary's life. Lois Leveen has created a work of historical fiction based on Mary's life and on other historical figures and situations. Included in the book are photographs of locations described and a picture, thought to be of Mary.

A unique aspect of this book is the details of what life is like for free and educated black people during the time of the Civil War. Contrasts and parallels are made with the life of those free in the North and in the South, with the life of black servants, and with the life of black slaves. The details of Mary's life - where she lives, her food, her clothes, what she reads, her romances - all serve to  immerse us in a time and place similar to what we have read in other Civil War novels, but with many specifics which may be new to us. 

In the novel, Mary, a child, is freed by Miss Bet, the daughter of her owners, and taken to Philadelphia for school and to begin a new life. When Mary is 20, she defies the law which forbids freed slaves from returning to Virginia, to go back to Richmond to care for her father. While in Richmond, working with Miss Bet and others, she acts as a servant in the household of Jefferson Davis in order to spy for the Union.

Leveen's writing drew me into the story - the history, the mysteries of escaping slaves and of spying, the romances of Mary and her parents, and the ideas and ideals of family, courage, and freedom.

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Speaking From Among the Bones

Flavia is back! It's March 1951 and Flavia and her sister, Ophelia are in church . Ophelia is practicing the organ pieces for Easter mass since the regular organist has recently disappeared. Falvia is excited since the church is going to disinter the bones of the Church's patron saint for the quincentenary of his death. The saint is rumored to have been buried with "Lucifer's stone," a diamond. Flavia thinks that maybe the stone can be used to help her father's money problems.

Flavia is on her usual course of murder and mayhem. The body of the organist is found on top of the crypt of the saint. The organist has been murdered. A secret tunnel is found leading from the graveyard into the crypt area under the church and the crypt of the saint has already been looted.

More mysteries abound in the form of strangers who have materialized  during the raising of the grave. The Bishop's secretary (Parr) and Mr. Sowerby, a friend of the vicar's are very interested in the stone. But it appears to be missing and just who murdered the organist? And just what is going on in the magistrate's house?

I love these books. There are easy to read and Flavia is a delight.  But she appears to be growing up, even though she still has her trusty bicycle, Gladys. There are some twists and turns but the ending was a complete surprise! I recommend these books - they are like seeing an old friend.

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Benediction by Kent Haruf

I have not read this author since Plainsong, and now want to go back and read everything he has written. Benediction is set in Holt, Colorado, several hours outside of Denver. Main character "Dad" Lewis, beloved owner of the local hardware store, has just received a diagnosis of cancer. Sounds like a downer of a book so far, but trust me, just the opposite. He and his wife Mary and daughter Lorraine work together to ensure that "Dad" lives his last months the way he wants.  

Poignant, beautiful writing about a man who has lived his life with dignity and compassion, and is not about to change. Lovely descriptions about the strength of small town life; about the outpouring of love and support "Dad" and his family experience. Such fine writing about his attempts to reconcile his life before he goes.  Highly recommended.

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Ashenden

Ashenden by Elizabeth Wilhide is the story of a grand English house of that name. Professionally reviewed as a Downton Abbey clone, I found that it was not. The star of this book is the house. The story line follows the owners of the house from the very first idea of the grand house to the brother and sister who inherit it as the last of the family line.

The real story starts in 1775 with the family Mores, who commission the house. Great detail is given on how the house was designed and the stone work started. It was really quite interesting. The Mores never fully paid for the work on the house and never fully finished it either. A great big house with beautiful proportions, as it is described, the house limped along until the Henderson's bought it in 1844. They loved the house, finished it off and restored it. The story line is tied together through the people who inhabit the house: first the stone mason and architect, then a housekeeper, then actual family members and servants. The house survives through various wars, illnesses, family traumas and periods of neglect.

There are plenty of architectural terms describing the house - the author is an author of interior design and architecture books as well. Not the character driven story that Downton Abbey is, the book is a very  interesting description of a grand English manor house and its history.

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce, is a tribute to life's unexpected turns and the endurance of marital love. It's opening quote from A Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan (published 1678), highlights the book's quest motif.

Like the pilgrim, Christian, in John Bunyan's allegory, Harold Fry is weighted down by a sense of guilt and failure. But unlike Christian, he is not spurred on by religious faith. Indeed, Harold has lost his faith both in God and in himself. His colleague and friend, Queenie, lies in a hospice 628 miles away, ravaged by cancer.  She has sent Harold a note saying goodbye. Carefully crafting a response, he sets about mailing it when the notion to keep walking takes hold. Harold's pilgrimage thus begins.

Harold's reason for walking is his conviction that this act will forestall Queenie's death. He believes it to be the one courageous thing he has done in his life. As he walks, his heart is heavy with perceived failures. First and foremost is the sadness he feels over his loveless marriage. He and his wife, Maureen, have been sleeping in separate bedrooms for the past twenty years. Harold believes he has completely failed as a parent to their only child, David. During the 48 days of Harold's walk, we learn that the adolescent David was addicted to drugs and alcohol--an illness that afflicted his grandfather.

As Harold continues on his walk, he comes more to resemble a homeless man than the man he once was. He doesn't bath, he wears the same clothes, and the obsessive thoughts of his childhood and his lost love begin to unhinge him. Back at home, his wife Maureen goes from feeling abandoned by the man she deems a nuisance to remembering the young Harold she deeply loved. 

In turn, the reader becomes acquainted with the true nature of both characters through flashbacks and internal dialogues. Although some scenes are humorous, the book is a sad one. As both Maureen and Harold come to terms with life's tragedies, there is a sense of redemption and a rediscovery of love.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a light read that is strongest when the author deals with real emotion. The book is weak in its attempt at humor. Still, Joyce has created a modern-day parable that is engaging.

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