|
|
Reading Rescue, February 2010:
Historical Fiction
 By
Anne Allen
With winter weather encouraging (forcing?) us to stay
close to home, what could be better than settling down for a little
serious reading? The Reading Rescuers (no boring books here!) are happy
to suggest some works of historical fiction to not only entertain but
also inform the reader with a look at different time periods.
In The Physick Book of Deliverance by Katherine
Howe, Connie Goodwin is a Colonial Studies graduate student at Harvard,
ready to get started on her doctoral thesis. The year is 1991, and
Connie reluctantly accedes to her mother’s request that she spend the
summer in Marblehead, Massachusetts, preparing her deceased grandmother
Sophia's house to be sold. Rummaging through some old books, Connie
finds an antique key with a scrap of paper bearing the name Deliverance
Dane. Howe switches the action between Connie's search to learn about
her ancestor and Deliverance's life in the 1680s and '90s. A village
healer, with a book of physicks or cures, Dane is swept up in the Salem
Witch trials. Research has rarely been as exciting as in this book,
where Connie pores over old records (not yet computerized), pokes
through library stacks, and visits New England churches with a handsome
young man repairing steeples for the summer. Dane's life in Colonial
America is fascinating, as is the picture of a society that believes in
witchcraft and wants to root it out. This one is a page-turner!
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn is set in
the London of Queen Victoria, and the year is 1886. Lady Julia Grey is
entertaining a houseful of friends for dinner when her husband, Sir
Edward, collapses and dies. Although upset, Julia isn't surprised: the
"curse of the Greys" is a short life and she sees nothing suspicious in
Edward's sudden death. The presence of a private investigator, Nicholas
Brisbane, does dismay her, especially when he informs her that Sir
Edward has hired him to look into death threats he has received.
Nevertheless, with the assurance of the family doctor that this is no
suspicious death, Sir Edward is buried. When Julia later discovers one
of the letters and realizes it was meant to implicate her, she must
persuade Brisbane to help her find the murderer. Raybourn humorously
depicts the foibles and follies of the upper class and deftly combines
winning characters, attractive settings, and an enjoyable light-hearted
mystery. Lady Julia's adventures continue in Silent in the Sanctuary.
In 1913, a little girl arrives in Australia, alone and
clutching a small white suitcase. The Forgotten Garden, a novel
by Kate Morton, begins with that image. The harbormaster, Hugh, and his
wife take the child in, certain that someone will claim her. As time
passes, they name her Nell and keep her as their own. Ranging from
London in 1900 to Australia in 1913 and 1975, and then to Cornwall in
2005, Morton depicts Nell's search for her past, and that of her
granddaughter Cassandra as she follows in Nell's footsteps and continues
the hunt. An illustrated book of fairy tales from the little white
suitcase offers clues to both women, and the author incorporates the
stories to both illuminate characters in the book and reflect on what
constitutes identity. Betrayal, obsession, envy, and love combine to
make this a book you won't want to end.
It may be hard to believe now, but the excitement
surrounding the release of each new Harry Potter book was similar to the
furor produced when author Charles Dickens published an installment of
his latest novel. The year is 1870, and Dickens's oldest son is in
India, trying to prevent trafficking in opium. Dickens has just died at
home in England, leaving his latest novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"
unfinished. Or is it? Boston publishers Fields and Osgood decide it is
worth a trip overseas to find out for themselves and to try to retrieve
a missing chapter. Matthew Pearl combines these elements into The
Last Dickens, including a look at Dickens's last lecture tour in
America, his interest in mesmerism and hypnotism, and the "bookaneer"
book pirates who try to steal manuscripts for unscrupulous publishing
houses (Harpers!). James Osgood, publisher, is our unlikely hero and he
travels around England with his soon to be divorced (what a scandal!)
secretary. Along with romance and the hunt for the missing manuscript,
there is a serious look at the opium trade and its effects. And readers
are left with a lingering question: is the rest of "Drood" hidden away
in a safe somewhere?
Tudor England and the wives of King Henry VIII are
scarcely undiscovered, but we can't help but rave about Wolf Hall
by Hilary Mantel. This is the story of Thomas Cromwell, the son of a
blacksmith who rose to be chief adviser to the king. The story is told
through Cromwell's eyes, as he prospers from the cloth trade, becomes an
advisor to Cardinal Wolsey, is elected to Parliament, and survives the
monumental fall of Wolsey to gain more power and wealth. It is a
fascinating story as he schemes to put Anne Boleyn on the throne,
supports the religious reformers in opposition to Sir Thomas More
(remember "A Man for All Seasons"?), and quietly writes law after law
that permanently change his society. As Cromwell interacts with the
Boleyns, the Howards, and the Percys, all powerful families, the title
reminds us that waiting offstage is yet another family to be dealt with:
the Seymours of Wolf Hall. This is the first of two planned novels about
Cromwell by Mantel, and we are eagerly waiting for the second. Family
trees and a listing of characters (both in the front of the book) will
help readers keep track of families and relationships. One warning:
Mantel has an unusual writing style (unidentified "he's" are nearly
always Cromwell), but the sweep of the story she has to tell makes that
easy to overcome.
Don't forget that overdue fines aren't assessed for days
the library is closed, and books aren't due either. Phone the library at
724-744-4414 to reserve or renew, or use the website at
www.pennlib.org.
View other Reading Rescue articles
|
|
