Book Review: Anon, Sir, Anon

Anon, Sir, Anon

by Rachel Heffington

284 pages // published in 2014 // historical mystery

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The 12:55 out of Darlington brought more than Orville Farnham's niece; murder was passenger. In coming to Whistlecreig, Genevieve Langley expected to find an ailing uncle in need of gentle care. In reality, her charge is a cantankerous Shakespearean actor with a penchant for fencing and an affinity for placing impossible bets. When a body shows up in a field near Whistlecreig Manor and Vivi is the only one to recognize the victim, she is unceremoniously baptized into the art of crime-solving: a field in which first impressions are seldom lasting and personal interest knocks at the front door. Set against the russet backdrop of a Northamptonshire fog, Anon, Sir, Anon cuts a cozy path to a chilling crime.

I immensely enjoyed this book! It's on par with any YA/adult historical mystery best-selling book out there -- for anyone who enjoys a good old-fashioned British murder (with a splash of comedy). Definitely for fans of the Flavia de Luce series.

Author Rachel Heffington is obviously a lover of words, a grammar aficionado, and a learned student/fan of Shakespeare himself. Her writing style is brilliant, pithy, and keeps a lovely British banter going for ages. The wittiness of it all is divine.

Farnham himself pops off Shakespearean proverbs as if they provide Biblical wisdom in any and all instances. I can't help from seeing the Holmes and Watson type of similarities too, found in Farnham and his doctor friend, Breen.

It's such a cozy type story. I feel like I've truly met and talked with these characters, and feel like I've visited Whistlecrieg a few times in person -- and would be excited to go back.

I naively assumed there would be a sequel -- the characters lend themselves easily to the making of more stories about them. However, upon my online research, I found no such sequel. (Yet.) I will hold out hope that Miss Heffington will supply us with a sequel at a later date. Also, I'll be waiting on a future movie to appear -- because this would make for an entertaining movie, for sure.

Contains some grammatical errors, but I looooove the story so much, I can overlook that flaw.

Content: Fairly clean, with subtle hints at mature topics, hints of impropriety. Mild swearing/euphemisms.

Minimum age to read: 15 and up.

BUY YOUR COPY!
paperback // e-book

Book #11 completed




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Book Review: The Horse and Buggy Doctor

The Horse and Buggy Doctor

Arthur E. Hertzler, M.D.

322 pages // published in 1938 // medical memoir

BOOK DESCRIPTION

"The Horse and Buggy Doctor follows no conventional lines. In larger part it is a book rich in anecdotes, a lively and somewhat rough-and-ready depiction of the country physician's experiences in general and Dr. Hertzler's in particular. In part it is descriptive of medical methods of the period." -New York Times

"This is almost an autobiography. Certainly it is the complete picture of a man. And the man is worth looking at." -Saturday Review of Literature

An interesting autobiography written by a country doctor, many decades back. The book is just filled with his wittiness, anecdotes, some surprising medical tales, and plenty of facts about the mundane day-to-day life of a gritty doctor who's been around the block a few times.

I couldn't believe some of his stories about kitchen surgeries, and his high success rates even in dingy surroundings. One of my favorite things he mentioned was how glad he was of the invention of automobiles, so that if surgery was desperately needed during the nighttime, they could park the automobile outside the window and utilize its bright lights.

You'll learn much of the backroad Kansas people -- their ideals, culture, opinions, and medicine. The standards of becoming a certified doctor back then weren't that high -- and Hertzler knew it, especially as the decades passed. He sure spent a good lifetime in tending to his patients well and expanding his curiosity and knowledge whenever he could -- or whenever unique specimens presented themselves for his continual research.

This doctor was dedicated to his patients and always performed his best for them. His autobiography is worth a perusal for readers who have an interest in either the historical or medical aspects of the book.

Minimum age to read: 15 and up.

BUY YOUR COPY!
paperback // hardcover // e-book

Book #10 completed // From the Americas or Caribbean




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Book Review: The Mysterious Island

The Mysterious Island

by Jules Verne

723 pages // published in 1865 // classic adventure

BOOK DESCRIPTION

After hijacking a balloon from a Confederate camp, a band of five northern prisoners escapes the American Civil War. Seven thousand miles later, they drop from the clouds onto an uncharted volcanic island in the Pacific. Through teamwork, scientific knowledge, engineering, and perseverance, they endeavour to build a colony from scratch. But this island of abundant resources has its secrets. The castaways discover they are not alone. A shadowy, yet familiar, agent of their unfathomable fate is watching.

What unfolds in Jules Verne’s imaginative marvel is both an enthralling mystery and the ultimate in survivalist adventures.

What do you get when you have a cyclone, a hot air balloon, five men, and a dog? Lost castaways on... The Mysterious Island!

What a great amount of imagination was poured into this story! -- While many elements of the plot may seem fantastical, it all comes out rather quite natural... With a giant wave of creative thinking splashed upon it, that is.

And... What remarkable feats of engineering these men concoct with limited tools and resources! -- Their ingenuity quite reminds me The Swiss Family Robinson.

The novel works as a sequel (of sorts) to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea -- since eventually we catch up with Captain Nemo, and find what has happened with him ever since.

Epic. Adventure.

BUY YOUR COPY!
paperback // e-book // audio

Book #9 completed // Classic in Translation




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Book Review: Only Gossip Prospers // BLOG TOUR!

There's a new release I'm excited to share with my fellow Little Women fans... (and #giftideas ya'll)... Check out my review below the book summary!  >>








About the Book:

In late 1875 Louisa May Alcott spent a winter in New York City.  Her journals give a rough sketch of the people she met, the salons she attended and a few outings that she enjoyed. She intended to stay “until I am tired of it,” but left abruptly in mid-January.

Filled with biographical references to Louisa’s family, New Yorkers of the time and Alcott’s literary works, Only Gossip Prospers intertwines the real people Louisa met, the actual events of New York City and a host of fictional characters who inhabit a world that Louisa herself would recognize.
Written in a style reminiscent of Alcott’s juvenile fiction and short adventure stories, the book is part historical fiction, part love letter to the charm of 1870s New York and part biography of Louisa and her contemporaries.  Only Gossip Prospers enters the debate that still hovers over Little Women as to what was “real” and what was “made up.” There are some twists and surprises, including one that will satisfy the greatest question left unanswered for fans of Little Women: what really happened between Jo and Laurie?

Only Gossip Prospers mashes together fact and fiction to draw a realistic portrait of Louisa May Alcott at the height of her fame.




    About the Author:

Lorraine Tosiello read Alcott’s Little Women in the first grade—and re-read it again and again throughout most of her childhood.  The book equipped her to set off on a journey of motherhood, traveling, rabble-rousing and work as a physician devoted to medical education and primary care medicine. Rereading Little Women in later adulthood rekindled her Alcott enthusiasm, and years of happy study resulted in her first novel, Only Gossip Prospers. She lives with her husband in midtown Manhattan and at the New Jersey shore.

Instagram // Facebook // Amazon // Barnes and Noble

Publisher: pinkumbrellabooks.com







Only Gossip Prospers

written by Lorraine Tosiello

322 pages // published in 2019 // historical fiction








An excellent, authentic-feeling portrait of Louisa May Alcott's life, post-Little Women.

Louisa takes a motherly, Marmee type of role in this saga. Wherever she treads, even in the giant sea of people in New York, she leaves an indelible mark on her very own hodgepodge set of little women around her.

Very well researched, in architecture, fashion, news of the day, etc. The fictional story is wound tightly around accurate historical facts. The fine details add flair to the story and make it seem so realistic. Many important people of the time period are included. The setting feels quite authentic. Plus, the plot even has some mystery brewing in the background that kept me interested.

On a different note though... Ladislas (Louisa's European friend) makes an appearance in New York. He locates Louisa, in a completely fictionalized scenario, and becomes a character that clashes with how I personally imagine him. This is the main element in the book where I would have preferred a different path, a different ending. Ladislas should have left us (and Louisa) with a happy memory. Sob.

Anyways, the writing style is great. I recognize bits of various lines that Tosiello includes in Louisa's dialogue, which reflect or repeat actual Louisa May Alcott phrases... and I like it! What a great job of intermingling true quotes into a fictional story, and make it seem like a natural thought process.

Overall, I do believe that this book gives a fair tribute to Miss Alcott's life. I feel like Louisa's true personality shines bright.

Minimum age to read: 15 and up. (Contains subtle hints of mature topics.)

The 1st line is sublime:

“It wouldn’t be Saturday without the hordes.” Louisa snapped the parlor curtains closed and turned to her sisters.

BUY YOUR COPY!
hardcover

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Only Gossip Prospers Tour Schedule:

December 10: Green Gables Book Reviews

December 11: Louisa May Alcott is my Passion

December 12: The Singing Librarian

December 13: The Mistress of the House Books

December 14: Turning Over a New Leaf

December 15: In the Bookcase

December 16: Older and Smarter

December 17: Discovering Diamonds

December 18: The Fairy Chamber

December 19: The Reader’s Salon

December 20: A Suitcase Full of Books

WINNER of A Literary Christmas giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for the lovely Christmas Snowman made from book pages! ... Today it's time to announce the WINNER!

What literary-minded person wouldn't want one of these?

And... if you're not the special winner to be blessed with this gift, you can get the same SNOWMAN from the Etsy shop Fold Between The Lines -- for any of your book-lovin' friends (and yourself, of course!).



So!


Here's the big announcement!


WHO WON???


>  >  >


Congratulations to Janice L.!

I hope you'll cherish your book-page Snowman for years to come. :)

- - - - - - - -


And in other news...

A Literary Christmas reading challenges continues!


If you're reading any holiday-themed books this month, please join us.

When a bookish perk brightens your day...

That moment when you realize that the bookmark you randomly picked out and the book you randomly stuck it in actually match. Like they were made for each other.

Just look at those reds and golds together!



That little tiny bookish perk brightened my day!

What brightened yours, dear friends?




Oh! And don't forget... only 3 days left to get your entries (or daily bonus entries) in for the Book Page Snowman! >>