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Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me
Peter Boody
330 pages
Jack Arrowsmith, the me in the book’s title, and Rachel Carter, Jack’s dead son’s girlfriend, meet the ghost of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. When Jack and Rachel engage Jefferson, he becomes a s...more
Thomas Jefferson, Rachel & Me
Peter Boody
330 pages
Jack Arrowsmith, the me in the book’s title, and Rachel Carter, Jack’s dead son’s girlfriend, meet the ghost of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. When Jack and Rachel engage Jefferson, he becomes a solid, breathing man who convinces them to take him away from Monticello. Thus ensues a sometimes-delightful tale of past and present that intertwines Jack’s grief over the loss of his wife from illness and his son from an automobile accident with Jefferson as the author of the Declaration of Independence and relationship to the Hemings family and slaves in general.
“Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.”—Mark Twain
By implication, the novel’s title suggested the most important character would be Jefferson, then Rachel, and lastly, Jack. However, I read more about Jack and his coping with loss than about Jefferson. Rachel, who should have been an important character, was little more than a cipher—her presence for me was more like a _deus ex machina_ enabling the Hemings discussion rather than a fully fleshed character. I don’t know if the reason for this was because the story was told from Jack’s point of view in first person, but for long stretches of the book, we are told about Jefferson’s activity after the fact. As a result, I thought the book was about the narrator instead of Jefferson. I never got close to Jefferson and didn’t witness him adapting to his new situation or grow as a person. Towards the end, it was hard to suspend the disbelief that I had willing done at the start. In addition, the book seemed to be a venue for Boody to express his political views. I found some scenes to be particularly ham-handed.
Despite the drawbacks this book has as a novel for me, I found it worth reading for the historical aspects regarding slavery and Jefferson’s relationship with the Hemings family.
Notes: I did come across some typos and the occasional clunky sentence. They were few and not sufficient to harm the reading experience. I read the Nook edition.(less)
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"When my daughter, Laura got tired of working as a cruise ship purser, she submitted eleven proposal packets to publishers and got a contract. Since I love to write, Laura and I decided to write th..."
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"Really enjoyed this interview. Lovely insight into Sharon's approach to her work.
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VEIL OF LIES by Jeri Westerson
Published 2008 by St. Martin’s Minotaur, New York
Veil of Lies: A Medieval Noir is Jeri Westerson’s debut novel featuring Crispin Guest; a medieval tec of the Sam Spade ilk. Originally from nobility with land, wealth, and...more
VEIL OF LIES by Jeri Westerson
Published 2008 by St. Martin’s Minotaur, New York
Veil of Lies: A Medieval Noir is Jeri Westerson’s debut novel featuring Crispin Guest; a medieval tec of the Sam Spade ilk. Originally from nobility with land, wealth, and a promising future, he loses it all to a rash and treasonous act against King Richard II. Although lucky to be alive, he was degraded and left with nothing but the clothes on his back.
Though literate, Crispin doesn’t have the skills for most employment. But he has a knack for finding things and develops a reputation as “The Tracker.” He contracts his services for six pence per day, but rarely has two farthings to rub together. At the novel’s start, we find him in debt, owing his landlord, the butcher, and the couple who befriended him, pub owners who are willing to maintain a running tab. He is summoned to the manor of Nicholas Walcote, a wealthy cloth merchant who wants to hire Crispin to spy on his wife, who Nicholas suspects of infidelity. Crispin is loath to take the job, and even though his fee is the only thing between him and supper, he turns it down.
However, Nicholas would not be so easily dismissed, and what ensues is a tale of loyalty, murder, love, and international intrigue that stretches from England to Italy. At its heart is a relic—a medieval lie detector, the Mandyllon or Veronica from the Latin: vera icona, true image. Through his investigation, Crispin not only discovers his quarry, but also learns a good deal about himself, and he is not altogether pleased.
Westerson wastes no words bringing the characters to life in a fourteenth-century London that the reader can not only see in the mind’s eye, but hear, feel, and smell as well. This book should appeal to readers who enjoy a medieval setting, mystery, and the hardboiled detective that is Crispin Guest. For me, the best thing is that there are more novels in the works. The next, Serpent in the Thorns, is currently available, and the third, The Demon’s Parchment, will be available this month. Happily, there are more to come, as I know this is one series that I’ll want to keep reading.(less)
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The Broken Sword by Rhoda Edwards
Published 1976 by Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York
(UK title: Some Touch of Pity)
The Broken Sword: A Novel of the Reign of Richard III by Rhoda Edwards is among the best fictional accounts of the late mal...more
The Broken Sword by Rhoda Edwards
Published 1976 by Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York
(UK title: Some Touch of Pity)
The Broken Sword: A Novel of the Reign of Richard III by Rhoda Edwards is among the best fictional accounts of the late maligned king that I have read. It covers the last two years of Richard’s life, from shortly before he discovered his brother, Edward IV, had died and named him protector of his son Edward V, to his tragic defeat two years later after having suffered the deaths of his only legitimate son and of his wife of twelve years. We get a real sense of his character and the difficulties he had to deal with during his rule.
Edwards shows us the king from the eyes of several people who were important to him in some way, from his own view point, and from Robert Bolman, the clerk Richard promoted based solely on merit—a truly unique act of those times. Even though this two year period was presented from multiple view points, Edwards gave each a unique voice.
I found the chapters told by Richard’s wife, Anne Neville, his close friend and ally, Francis Lovell, and his physician, Dr. William Hobbes especially poignant. In these chapters we see Richard at the height of his powers and personal happiness and at his most vulnerable and at the depths of his emotional agony.
One point that had puzzled me was why Richard rushed into that last fateful battle where he lost his life and subsequently, his reputation. Edwards shows us Richard was among other things, under fiscal pressure to not delay the battle. The treasury was still depleted and not unlike affairs today, he needed money to govern. Had he pushed the battle back to when he could have been assured of the necessary troops, he risked not having the capital to pay for them. One point Edwards developed that I particularly liked was how Richard had been aware of the Stanleys’ potential betrayal, but that he had approached their “fence sitting” pragmatically.
There were a few expository paragraphs, more so near the beginning of the book, interrupting the narrative flow that Edwards had otherwise so beautifully crafted. I would have preferred it if those parts had been handled through author’s notes at the end.
Ordinarily, I don’t recommend fiction as a reference for historical facts, since to get at what the author interprets as an emotional or larger truth, the writer might decide to “bend” a few facts. In this instance, I take exception. Not only did Edwards not take any license with the facts, but I feel she did find the larger truth. This book stands equally with the other oft touted Ricardian classics—Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey and Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman.
The Broken Sword is no longer in print. Used copies are available.(less)
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My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse
Three Clover Press
Trade Paperback
250 pages
Historical Fiction
My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse is about Robert Hart. The bare facts are that in 1854, Hart left Ireland under a cloud for China to fill the...more
My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse
Three Clover Press
Trade Paperback
250 pages
Historical Fiction
My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse is about Robert Hart. The bare facts are that in 1854, Hart left Ireland under a cloud for China to fill the role of interpreter for the British consulate. He immersed himself into the Chinese culture and learned the language and Chinese thinking so well that he was the first foreigner to become the Inspector General of China’s Customs Service. He lived in China for 54 years. Prior to the Cultural Revolution he became known as the “Godfather of China’s modernism.”
But those are merely the facts. Thankfully, Hart kept journals, many of which survive to this day. While researching Hart’s life, Lofthouse discovered that Hart kept a concubine with whom he had three children. To protect her and his children, he burned most of the journal entries concerning the love of his life. Fortunately for us, Lofthouse was able to piece together a lusty and poignant portrait of a conflicted and principled man who would not abandon his Chinese family no matter what the cost.
Rather than focus on what was already known about Hart, from his journals and official records, Lofthouse focused on Hart’s long-term affair with Ayaou, a boat-girl. Even most Chinese looked down upon the boat-people. He meets Ayaou and her sister, Shao-mei while escaping the oppressive summer heat of Ningpo to join his fellow country man, Patridge at his summerhouse on the western end of Zhoushan Island. Patridge had arranged to bring in eligible girls for concubines for his friends staying with him. Hart is immediately attracted to Ayaou and decides to buy her, but before he can do so, another of Patridge’s guests beats him to her. As you already know from my previous paragraph, Hart does eventually secure Ayaou, but you, dear reader, will have to read this book to find out how he does it and what happens to Ayaou and Shao-mei.
Lofthouse does a masterful job of not only presenting Hart and those he encountered as fully fleshed people, but also gives us a taste of how the Chinese think and what that culture is all about—an understanding that one can’t get from the news. And even though this story takes place in the nineteenth-century, I think much of the insight into the Chinese culture is relevant today.
The one fault that I have with this book is the denouement was far too abrupt. I kept flipping the last page, hoping that I really wasn’t at the end. The resolution was incomplete for me. Thankfully, the sequel, My Hart, promises to continue where this book left off. I will be reading it soon.
My Splendid Concubine received Honorable Mention in Fiction at the 2008 London Book Festival.(less)
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In Blue Bells of Scotland, Laura Vosika spins a captivating tale that combines historical fiction with time travel and a bit of reverse alternate history cleverly woven in. Instead of changing the final outcome of an important historical event, Vosik...more
In Blue Bells of Scotland, Laura Vosika spins a captivating tale that combines historical fiction with time travel and a bit of reverse alternate history cleverly woven in. Instead of changing the final outcome of an important historical event, Vosika changes the history at the start of the novel so that her time traveler changes it to what actually is. Although the grandfather paradox is mentioned, no consequences are shown for the changed history that the time travel generated such as people disappearing as if they never existed. The pacing flows from a measured cadence at the start of the tale and builds to a climatic crescendo reminiscent of Ravel’s Bolero.
Just before the 1314 Battle of Bannockburn, the two main characters, Shawn Kleiner, a twenty-first century classical trombonist who has rock-star fame, switches places with Niall Campbell, a fourteenth century lord, soldier, and harpist. Niall and Shawn are effectively clones, and so are seen by their peers to be the persons they were expected to be. One thing that often bothers me in time travel tales is how the time traveler is able to understand radically different versions of the same language. For example, in addition to Gaelic, Niall knew Middle English, which is not readily intelligible to Modern English speakers. Here is a sample from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales:
Heere bigynneth The Knyghtes Tale
WHILOM, as olde stories tellen us,
Ther was a duc that highte Theseus;
Visually, this may be more understandable for us than if we heard it, because of the way pronunciations changed. In Monty Python and The Holy Grail, knight was pronounced ki-nig-it. This is probably the way knight was said then as one of the members of Monty Python, Terry Jones, is a medievalist. Vosika shows how Niall works through the language change in a believable way.
Vosika created a plausible background for both characters that allowed them to function—albeit awkwardly—in the other's time. I was able to suspend my disbelief that these two men had these skills and were physically identical to each other. I particularly liked Shawn’s transformation from an arrogant womanizer who only thinks about himself and what people can do for him, to an unpretentious loyal friend—a man ready to lay down his life for a cause he believes in.
Perhaps the most important aspect of a story to me is that I become invested in the characters. Blue Bells does not disappoint. Both Shawn and Niall are fully fleshed and I could imagine having a conversation with each. In addition to the two main characters, I feel I got to know and cared for Amy, Shawn’s lover. One negative in my mind is the author sprang a significant revelation about Amy where I did not see the behavior as consistent with her character. My apologies for being vague, but I do not want to introduce spoilers. One character that I would have like to have known better was Allene, a feisty, self-sufficient medieval noblewoman and Niall’s betrothed. I look forward to learning more about her in the second book.
Of some minor concern was that I thought the prose could have been tighter and I found a few typos. I soon forgot these as I became absorbed by the story. This is one book that I found hard to put down.
Even though this is only the first book, I found the ending sufficiently satisfying, giving me the patience to wait for the second of the trilogy. That said; write faster, Laura. I want to read more.(less)
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