I very much enjoyed The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd (2014), which really surprised me by how much fun it was. Yes, at first glance, the description sounded as though I'd like it, GoodReads readers rated it a 3.9, with most readers rating it a "4," and the next most numerous group a "5." I believe the book can be categorized as an "historical romance," but really, truly, it is a cut above the norm of that genre. It's set on the "moors" in England, in what appears to be northern England, because it's a dark, snow-covered, wintry setting. The novel is a modest length and the action does not slacken its pace throughout. Original as well, I thought. But if Romance with a capital "R" is not your thing, then some of its pleasures may not find you.
My next FUN read is The Royal Nanny by Karen Harper. I've dug into this one already and again I like it immensely. The young, though experienced, nanny in question has by chance and by luck, been hired to be "under-nanny" to the young royals at Sandringham Estate in Norfolk in 1897. Her young charges include David, oldest grandson of the Prince of Wales, and also heir to the throne after his father George, the Duke of York, as well as Bertie, the second son, and another child who is an infant. And thus her adventures begin.
Lest you think I have gone dotty for pablum reads, I am also beginning The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble, which was published in 2016, and which I started, but then had to return to the library. I am content to start the novel all over again because what I read two years ago was well worth rereading. Tales of those in their mid-seventies and hanging on with every breath. This one I'm reading for the TBR 2019 Challenge.
Those last two books sound like I would like them. I like the time period of 1897 and the royals, and the second book appeals to me because of the people being in their 70s.
ReplyDeleteHi Terra,
DeleteIf you like novels about aging that combine humor, serious relationships among older people, and a dabbling of serious pertinent issues, then The Dark Flood Rises is the book for you. I'm so happy to be digging into it again.
And I'm a third of the way through The Royal Nanny as of tonight, and it is just wonderful!!
I was struggling through some difficult books myself. Sometimes one really does need to alternate between a tough read and something more accessible. I think that it is necessary to take on some lighter books from time to time.
ReplyDeleteHi Brian,
DeleteI find it helps me to have lighter reads going on at the same time as a very challenging book. The Last of the Mohicans has been my most challenging book this year. I'll get there, probably within a week.
So glad you've found some fun reads to break up The Last of the Mohicans. Strange that it it such a local book and I've never had a desire to read it... your comments aren't doing much to change my thinking! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAfter finishing Inheritance, I went right on to Dani Shapiro's memoir about marriage, Hourglass, and may continue with Devotion.
JoAnn,
DeleteI've read nonfiction histories of this period, and have found them interesting. But a novel like this--constant ambushes and battles among groups of Indians in New York, between those Indians allied with the French and English soldiers, constant anguish and danger and despair--all in such difficult language. Argghh. I just remember that the Back to the Classics Challenge is a challenge. I am determined to read this book, although I am switching my Tragedy Book from Tale of Two Cities to A House of Mirth, which I recently reviewed.
I believe I will move on to Dani Shapiro's other memoirs, but not immediately. They do sound very good, though.
Although I usually don't read more than one book at a time, I have done that while reading a very challenging (or very long) classic novel. I eventually end up concentrating more on one than the other though.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy,
DeleteI can't complain, really. I've really enjoyed almost all of the classics I've read, but The Last of the Mohicans is a HUGE exception. It reminds me of my most disliked classic of all-time, Moby Dick! I do find that no matter what, other books alongside challenging books, do seem to coax me along.
Breaking up a slow moving read with lighter in-between books is a great strategy I think! I had to look up pablum. Great word! Now I will probably end up seeing it everywhere. :D
ReplyDeleteI’ve never read any Margaret Drabble but really should remedy that. She is such an accomplished author and has written so much.
Hi Ruthiella,
DeleteI have never read a Margaret Drabble novel that I didn't like very much. I've been reading her since the mid-late 1970s. She has a famous sister who is also an author, and I simply can't understand, let alone read her novels. I read one, but that was it. Interestingly, the sisters have always been at logger-heads, supposedly.
About pablum--isn't that always the way with a new word? Learn it, and then it seems everyone else has suddenly learned it, too!
The strategy is working with Last of the Mohicans. Have only 80 pages to go now, out of about 400 pages. Sog along, droop along, forward!
I like A.S.Byatt actually. Loved Possession especially. But this makes me even more curious to read Drabble too. Is it one or the other or can one love both? :D
DeleteI gravitate toward the realism in Drabble's writing, and I've always been very interested in her acute understanding of the inner workings of relationships. Her portrayals of strong women characters have been key to my appreciation of her novels. I simply love her work.
DeleteI have trouble "latching on" to Byatt's plots, philosophies, characters--they all seem ethereal to me. But, Ruthiella, in no way do I believe she is a lesser writer, it's simply I do not appreciate her work.
I do believe that a person can love both, though they are very, very different writers. One difference that I appreciate is Margaret Drabble's tongue-in-cheek humor. One imagines her as a person who doesn't take herself too seriously. The Dark Flood Rises, though a serious book, is full of a dry humor about aging and everything that comes with it.
Oh, I love the idea of pablum reads! The Head Mistress of Rosemere is going on my list. :)
ReplyDelete