Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 115

His Delightful Lady Delia by Grace Hitchcock

Delia Vittoria doesn’t mind being her mother’s understudy at New York’s Academy of Music, but then her mother’s respiratory ailment thrusts Delia onto stage – and into the limelight. The new operatic diva takes New York society by storm, but will her newfound acclaim overcome the stigma of being the daughter of a woman of ill repute and an absent father, a child of divorce?

Well-established in New York society, hotel owner Kit Quincy has resigned himself to unwanted bachelorhood after several romances went astray. He’s completely taken by the lovely Delia, but he can never hope to undo the horror of mistaking her for her mother and reprimanding her for carrying on with a married man. Then a society maven proposes a scheme to raise Delia’s fame and keep the Academy in society’s eyes as the new Metropolitan Opera threatens its stance. The scheme? For Kit to pretend to be a figure from the past, a phantom who will swoop down to stage and bestow mysterious and romantic attention on Delia. The problem? No one knows what happened to the previous phantom.

A delightful romp! His Delightful Lady Delia by Grace Hitchcock is full of yearning and humor and just the right touch of old-fashioned Victorian melodrama. Delia’s upstanding character and her quest for acceptance make her an endearing heroine, and Kit offers dash and integrity and a trace of vulnerability. Enjoy!

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Today in World War II History—November 2, 1942

Sherman tanks of the Eighth Army speed across the desert as Axis forces retreat from El Alamein, November 1942 (Imperial War Museum: E 18971)

80 Years Ago—Nov. 2, 1942: In Operation Supercharge at El Alamein, Montgomery’s British Eighth Army breaks German lines.

In New Guinea, Australians reoccupy Kokoda and its airfield on the way from Port Moresby to Buna.

Future US Supreme Court justice Earl Warren is elected governor of California.

At Bell Island, Newfoundland, torpedo from German U-boat U-518 hits dock, the only direct German attack on North American land in the war; two ships are sunk.

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Today in World War II History—November 1, 1942

Facsimiles of 1943 US airplane spotter playing cards, showing nicknames for Japanese aircraft (Sarah Sundin collection)

80 Years Ago—Nov. 1, 1942: US ceases production of liquor—warehouses contain a four-year stock.

US War Department designates Japanese aircraft with human names, initially with male names for fighters and female for all others.

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Today in World War II History—October 31, 1942

Theatrical release poster of the 1942 American film Now, Voyager (Vitagraph, Inc., public domain via Wikipedia)

80 Years Ago—Oct. 31, 1942: Luftwaffe raid on Canterbury, England, is hampered by barrage balloons.

New York City children trick-or-treat during the daytime due to the blackout.

New song in Top Ten: “When the Lights Go on Again.”

Movie premiere of drama Now, Voyager, starring Bette Davis and Paul Henreid.

British poster, WWII (Imperial War Museum)

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Today in World War II History—October 30, 1942

US Western Naval Task Force en route from US to French Morocco for Operation Torch, 26 October 1942 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—Oct. 30, 1942: In Allied convoy SL-125 off West Africa, U-boat wolf-pack sinks six ships; this convoy distracts the U-boats from the approaching convoys for the Allied invasion of Morocco.

At El Alamein, Australians push north to the sea, trapping enemy forces, but most escape to the west.

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Today in World War II History—October 29, 1942

British Grant tank moving up to the front at El Alamein, Egypt, 29 October 1942 (Imperial War Museum: E 18684)

80 Years Ago—Oct. 29, 1942: At El Alamein, German troops under Rommel make a heavy attack against Australian forces on the northern flank.

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Today in World War II History—October 28, 1942

RAF No.223 Squadron Martin Baltimore bombing German landing ground at El Daba, Egypt, Second Battle of El Alamein, 1942 (Imperial War Museum: HU 52289)

80 Years Ago—Oct. 28, 1942: At El Alamein in Egypt, German troops under Rommel form up for counterattack, which is broken up by Allied air attack.

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Today in World War II History—October 27, 1942

US Navy Day poster, 1942 (Bureau of Naval Personnel)

80 Years Ago—Oct. 27, 1942: Germans secure Caucasus Mountains.

Germans order liquidation of last major ghetto in Ukraine, at Pinsk.

Actor Clark Gable is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army Air Forces after completing Officer Candidate School.

US celebrates Navy Day.

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Today in World War II History—October 26, 1942

Damage to carrier USS Hornet’s signal bridge, Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 Oct 1942 (US Navy photo: 80-G-40300)

80 Years Ago—Oct. 26, 1942: Center and Eastern Task Forces depart Britain for Torch landings in Oran and Algiers, Algeria.

In Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, Japanese carrier aircraft damage carrier USS Hornet (sinks the next day) and carrier USS Enterprise.

Germans make first major arrests of Norwegian Jews—through February, 770 will be sent to concentration camps, only 25 will survive the war.

First American Red Cross clubmobiles begin service to US troops in Britain.

American Red Cross clubmobile serves coffee and donuts to US troops in Britain, WWII (Photo via American Air Museum in Britain)

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Today in World War II History—October 25, 1942

Cpl. Refines Sims Jr., left, and Pvt. Alfred Jalufkamet of the US Army Corps of Engineers meeting in the middle after completing construction of the Alcan Highway, 1942. (US Army Corps of Engineers photo)

80 Years Ago—Oct. 25, 1942: German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel returns to Battle of El Alamein in Egypt after medical treatment in Germany.

US completes construction of Alcan Highway, connecting the US Territory of Alaska to the “Lower Forty-Eight” (officially opens November 26).

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