Books

In His Last Letter: Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester, Jeane Westin tells the bittersweet love story of Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. Ironically, the story has become strangely relevant, as more women take the lead in relationships as powerful wage-earners and their partners assume less powerful positions.

The novel captures the last three years of the monarch’s relationship with her lover. The two had known and loved each other from childhood. Many have speculated that Elizabeth resolved never to marry as she feared she would lose her power once wed. Dudley resented that she would not marry him, but still he could not stay away from her. Elizabeth was both a queen and a woman, and she suffered when he strayed.

It is fascinating story of passion, jealously and of love between dynamic historical figures. It is also a captivating portrait of a powerful women’s struggle to balance love and power.

Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall sweeps readers back to the grand and turbulent final years of Tsarist Russia. Valentina Ivanova, the daughter of a Russian aristocrat, is a beautiful talented pianist caught up in the revolution that sweeps the country. Men from all factions pursue her as she fights for her family’s survival.

Jewel of St. Petersburg is a passion-packed romance that will delight readers who admire a strong-minded heroine. If you the heat is getting to you, relax with a tale set in snowy Russia of bygone days.

The Secret Eleanor: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Cecelia Holland tells the lesser-known story of a young Eleanor of Aquitaine in the court of the French king Louis VII. Eleanor of Aquitaine remains one of the most powerful and compelling women in history. Born in the Aquitaine region of what is now France, she married twice to become the queen of both France and England. She was also the mother of three Kings. She is credited with the creation of “courtly love”.

The Secret Eleanor: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine tell of Eleanor’s plot with her sister Petronilla to escape her dull marriage to her religious and monk-like husband Louis VII to marry a young and virile Henry Anjou.

Eleanor was well-educated and literate. She was reported to be cunning and adept at politics. Cecelia Holland tells a tale of deception and passion that is riveting and entertaining.

The Book of Peach by Penelope J. Stokes is cleverly written. It deals with the often-painful subject of aging mothers and daughters who have never gotten along, but who are, by the vicissitudes of life, forced to live together.

Peach is a Southern woman who left home and got married, but now finds she is alone. Her husbnd of many years abruptly left her. Peach has nowhere to go and little idea of what to do next. She reluctantly returns to her childhood home and her exacting and demanding mother.

The book is set in a small southern town where Peach must find the woman she will become for the rest of her life. As she struggles for a new identity, she will also learn, perhaps for the first time, to see others as they really are – including her own mother.

The Book of Peach is a delightful look at what is often a sore subject. It is also a perfect summer read.

A Piggly Wiggly Wedding by Robert Dalby is the third book in a popular series. I never read the first two volumes, but enjoyed this humorous and whimsical story nevertheless. This time the colourful characters of the fictional Mississippi Delta town of Second Creek are intent on charming the snobby children of their beloved mayor’s fiancée. As the story unfolds and the wedding day draws near, the endearing characters deal with aging friends, illness, the failing economy, strained marriages, and a host of universal problems. The message and the magic of this book is that good friends and a sense of humour can carry you through life’s challenges. A little tome of homespun sunshine and perfect summer read.

DolceDolce’s Deb Williams reviews her latest “must-read” novel:

I always feel a rush of excitement as I realize the book I am reading is turning out to be something fabulous. Sarah Blake’s The Postmistress is just that — fabulous! In a world of thrillers and fast-paced murder mysteries, I was enraptured by her ability to take the reader on a slow journey.

The novel is set in 1941 as the German blitz and nightly air raids leave London devastated. An ocean away, a bus stops in Franklin, Massachusetts and two new residents arrive. The postmistress and doctor’s wife on Cape Cod, and Frankie in London, will all play roles in each other’s lives.

Blake nudges us to look deeper into the lives of three women as she delicately unravels the lives of the three protagonists: Frankie Bard, a radio journalist stationed in London who is earnestly trying to report the “truth”; Emma Fitch, the doctor’s wife, a petite, quiet woman with her own secret to hide; And Iris James, the new postmistress who holds the biggest secret of all, an undelivered letter.

These three women play integral roles in a web of romance, mystery and inevitable tragedy.

Blake showcases her writing ability by constantly moving from the bleak, war-torn European countryside to the quaint beauty of Cape Cod. She gives her characters depth and meaning that make their stories memorable.

This is a tale that cannot be rushed. The reader must allow it to unfold slowly to its shocking conclusion. So, on a summer evening when there is a gentle breeze and all is quiet, read The Postmistress. I’m sure you will enjoy this heart-warming book, just as I did.

A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman is a standout first novel. It is the parallel story of two women, Latha and Biso. Set in turbulent Sri Lanka, the story is so deftly constructed that the reader doesn’t fully realize the connections or recognize the friends or foes until the last pages.

Latha is a foundling raised in rich man’s home. As a child she is the companion, friend and schoolmate of Thara, the rich spoiled daughter of the house. As a young woman forced into the role of a servant, she yearns for more and rails against her position. She embarks on an act of rebellion that changes the course of her life - and Thara’s too.

Biso is a young woman who is forced to flee an abusive drunken husband with her three small children. One hopes that her innate dignity and grace will protect her on her journey to find a haven.

The author suggests Sri Lanka’s harsh climate of poverty and upheaval. She calmly sets her very human drama in a country where the rich buy, sell, beat, and trade the poor, in spite of a façade of human rights.

Though very different and much more hopeful in tone, this book resonated with me, as did Rohinton Mistry’s, A Fine Balance. The characters in both books fight oppression and hardship, in the search for lives of freedom and dignity. This well-told tale of the longing and pursuit for simple human freedoms is eloquent and haunting.

Deep in the Orthodox Jewish ghetto of Brooklyn is world of women who frequent basement shops that sell shoes, dresses, and lingerie. Ilana Stanger-Ross sets her tale, Sima’s Undergarments for Women in this warm, vibrant world, where women come to gossip and share their happiness and heartbreaks. It sounds, so trite, but Stanger-Ross has penned a tale that is authentic and universal.

Life changes for Sima, a 50-something woman, when Timna a beautiful, young Israeli woman enters her lingerie shop. Timna is fresh out of the army and looking for her place in a city she finds intimidating. Her youth and beauty stir feelings in Sima about her own life. She is forced to confront her feelings about never having had children, as well as secrets from her past as she bonds with Timna. The vibrant, tumultuous young woman forces Sima and her husband to look for what they lost years ago.

This powerful dynamic marriage and womanhood midlife plays out against the very serious business of buying lingerie.

This is a mesmerizing and enchanting tale about the sisterhood of women and also about finding yourself and daring to love. It elevates human emotion and relationships well above the usually trite handling of deep and universal themes.

Julia Cameron is known for her inspirational how-to book, The Artist’s Way. In her latest tome, The Creative Life: True Tales of Inspiration she shares her own struggle to stay inspired. She lets her readers in own her own day-to-day process of writing a book and getting her other projects done. She shares her doubts, triumphs, setbacks and victories.

Writers will find the book mesmerizing and invaluable, as Julia Cameron holds back little of her own self-doubt and personal struggles. She shares invaluable information on dealing with agents, editors, and others needed to get ahead in the business. Her candor and generosity is enabling and priceless.

Rosanne Carter’s Composed is a multi-layered book. She is an accomplished artist in her own right with 21 top 40 country singles, 14 albums, 10 Grammy nominations, and two gold records. But, it is clear she can never escape being Johnny Cash’s daughter.

The book is an eloquent attempt to explain her own hard-won identity. She writes about the pain of her parents’s divorce. She is fair and generous to the memory of June Carter, who by all accounts was loving and generous.

Mostly she explains her journey as an artist struggling to express herself. She writes in detail about making music. She is knowledgeable. She shares her personal life too, as a woman and mother.

In spite of the bold-type names that people her tale, her story is honest and relatable to anyone who has struggled to find her own voice.

The Blind Contessa’s New Machine by Carey Wallace is a beautiful book. I felt compelled to pick it up and devour it. It is a perfect little volume with a gorgeous cover that holds a lyrical tale of love and loss.

From the novel’s first intriguing paragraph, I was drawn into the Contessa’s world.

"On the day Contessa Carolina Fantoni was married, only one other living person knew that she was going blind, and he was not her groom. This was not because she had failed to warn them. ‘I am going blind,’ she had blurted to her mother, in the welcome dimness of the family coach, her eyes still bright with tears from the searing winter sun. By this time, her peripheral vision was already gone. Carolina could feel her mother take her hand, but she had to turn to see her face. When she did, her mother kissed her, her own eyes full of pity. ‘I have been in love, too,’ she said, and looked away."

It is the story of Carolina Fantoni, a young Contessa in 18^th-century Italy. She realizes she is going blind as she is about to be married. Carolina is the child of a distant mother and a loving but eccentric father. She has a childhood friendship with Turri. He is an eccentric inventor who has made a bad marriage and finds solace in his friendship with Carolina. Turri is also the only person who understands she is going blind.

The story chronicles Carolina’s shrinking visual world and how her other senses expand. It is also a story of deep passion, sensuality, and friendship between Carolina and Turri.

Carey Walker writes beautifully. Her prose is mesmerizing and her characters are original, imaginative, and memorable. Treat yourself to this little jewel, then buy another for a special friend.