I am at a time of crossroads in my life and I went out looking for a book that would speak directly to me in this time of unsettledness. I remembered reading some of Sugar’s posts on The Rumpus after I read Wild so I thought why not read Tiny Beautiful Things? I’m glad I decided to, because Sugar’s voice was what I needed, what I still need. I cried more than once reading her responses to the letters she received. The stories that arrive […]
seven for a secret, never to be told
One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret, Never to be told. This may be one of my favorite books of the year so far, which makes sense as it is the sequel to one of my three favorite books from last year, The Gods of Gotham. Seven for a Secret finds Timothy Wilde six months removed from the events of the first book set up as an […]
I’m Glad I Wasn’t the Lady of the House in the Victorian Era
Obligatory synopsis from Goodreads: An almost forgotten classic though a founding text of Victorian middle-class identity, Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management is a volume of insight and common sense. Written by what one might now describe as a Victorian Martha Stewart, the book offers advice on fashion, child-care, animal husbandry, poisons, and the management of servants. To the modern reader expecting stuffy verbosity or heavy moralizing, Beeton’s book is a revelation: it explores the foods of Europe and beyond, suggesting new food stuffs and techniques, mixing […]
No, It’s Not Just the Dresses
I fell in love with Jane Austen sometime around 1996. I think the first time I read one of her books was when it was assigned my sophomore year of high school, and I’m pretty sure it was Pride and Prejudice but it may have been Sense and Sensibility. I’m just not sure anymore. In the intervening years I have consumed all six of her major novels, getting the final one read last year, and have partaken in many, but certainly not all, of the […]
One must avoid dinner parties of 14…
… because if you don’t you are putting yourself in the awkward position of ending up with the dreaded 13 guests should one need to cancel at the last moment. Just one of the many insights I’ve gleaned from Mrs. Seely. 🙂 This book is another in the list of historical reference materials and this one has the added benefit of being a reference in its own time period! The height of domestic service roughly coincides with the Gilded Age, 1880-1920. In that time a […]
A Silly Little Collection of Historical Facts
Synopsis Via Goodreads: When Tony Perrottet heard that Napoleon’s “baguette” had been stolen by his disgruntled doctor a few days after the Emperor’s death, he rushed out to New Jersey. Why? Because that’s where an eccentric American collector who had purchased Napoleon’s member at a Parisian auction now kept the actual relic in an old suitcase under his bed. The story of Napoleon’s privates triggered Perrottet’s quest to research other such exotic sagas from history, to discover the actual evidence behind the most famous age-old […]