Discussion of HR and other books. And recs. Showing 351-400 of 3,299

[Danker]

Have just finished a medieval HR classic recommended by Elizabeth Chadwick - Red Adam’s Lady by Grace Ingram. Chadwick writes a foreword to the e book edition and I agree with her assessment of the book. I don’t usually read medievals as the violence (against women, in particular) is often too much, irrespective of whether or not it is accurate for the era. There is plenty of violence in RAL, as well as some commentary that jarred, but, even so, I found it interesting. Additionally, the hero falls in love within minutes, shows restraint and is faithful, which is very unusual for a medieval. Finally, I needed to access the dictionary twice and that always pleases me.

[HappyBookWorm2020]

Danker wrote: "Have just finished a medieval HR classic recommended by Elizabeth Chadwick - Red Adam’s Lady by Grace Ingram. Chadwick writes a foreword to the e book edition and I agree with her assessment of the..."

I like that one but my favorite by the author will always be No Man's Son. Doris Sutcliffe Adams also wrote as Grace Ingram. I first read her books as a teenager from my public library. Even after I graduated college and moved for a job, I could still find her books in the public library in the new town where I moved. It is sad to me that all except this one are out of print. I thought she had a real gift for making the reader feel as if they were experiencing the Middle Ages.

[Carol]

Both the ebook and audio version of RMS can be borrowed from hoopladigital.com. You have to check and see if access to hoopla is available from your library.

openlibrary.org has NMS in audio form. I have never used that site. Has anyone here used it?

I had marked RAL to read a long time ago and never got around to it. Maybe I'll move it up on my too long TBR list.

[Danker]

Thanks so much for the info re No Man’s Son and the pseudonym. I will check it out.
I have Red Adam’s Lady on Kindle, bought from Amazon. It had been sitting in my unread pile for ages. I imagine that I bought it because someone on this site recommended it.
Re query about Open Library/Internet Archive. I use it constantly and have made a small monthly donation for the past few years. It is very useful when reading books that are out of print or not yet released in ebook format.
Unfortunately, the usage on some books is now only permitted one hour at a time. I’m a very fast reader but an hour isn’t enough. I reluctantly renew the loan after an hour, or try to chose books with the other option - that is a 14 day loan. I don’t do Audio, so I’m no help there.
PS. My error. I meant to say fomenting war, not fermenting. I’ve been fermenting produce lately so it’s been on my mind. If I’m not careful, however, I fear that I will be talking about “rich as crocuses” very soon! (A great descriptor encountered by OLT.)

[Carol]

Hmm, fermenting. I think I'll have some wine with my dinner.

[OLT]

I will never be as rich as a crocus and will never try to ferment a war. But I just looked up the verb "to ferment" and it appears that you could actually use it in that way. Not that anybody does. I also have trouble with "founder" and "flounder" at times so what do I know?

[Carol]

Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol, carbon dioxide and heat. Different varieties of grapes and strain…

A votre sante!

[Danker]

In case anyone is interested, the two words from RAL that sent me to the dictionary were Antiphon and Chirurgery.

[HappyBookWorm2020]

Danker wrote: "Thanks so much for the info re No Man’s Son and the pseudonym. I will check it out.
I have Red Adam’s Lady on Kindle, bought from Amazon. It had been sitting in my unread pile for ages. I imagine t..."

Grace Ingram/Doris Sutcliffe Adams was over the top at times with drama, but what made her books stand out for me was how she made it feel so real. I could imagine the white glare of the sun off the buildings and the dust kicked up by horses and camels, and the press of people and animals in the streets. I wish I could put it better. That was a street in No Man's Son, in Acre, that I am describing.

[HappyBookWorm2020]

Danker wrote: "In case anyone is interested, the two words from RAL that sent me to the dictionary were Antiphon and Chirurgery."

I thought I knew chirugery. I am very glad not to have had it. I had to look up Antiphon also.

[Danker]

HappyBookWorm - Elizabeth Chadwick said something similar and that’s exactly what drew me to reading RAL.
And I wasn’t disappointed.
I think you have summarised her appeal very well. Her descriptions are in no way showy or verbose, even when she is depicting something complex (and unfamiliar to modern readers). They have a vibrancy - just as you illustrate with the image of the dust and the street scene. I should research her. I wonder if she was also a poet?

[OLT]

A reader could say the same about Elizabeth Chadwick. And Sharon Penman, if you had the time to devote to reading her. Speaking of Chadwick, have any of you read The Falcons of Montabard? It's one of my favorites of hers.

[Danker]

Just bought the Falcons of Montalbad. $13 for a Kindle copy. Thanks for rec.

[Danker]

Montabard

[OLT]

Danker wrote: "Just bought the Falcons of Montalbad. $13 for a Kindle copy. Thanks for rec."

That's a bit pricey. Hope it's worth it.

[OLT]

I just found this article by Stephen Fry about Georgette Heyer and Regency novels. Much you may all have already known, but it's Stephen Fry so I'm sharing:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

[Danker]

Thanks OLT. I’ve stopped subscribing to The Guardian, so I had missed it. Intriguing to think of a bloke being a Heyer fan. His description of the Netflix Bridgerton series is the best I’ve encountered.

[OLT]

I read the Bridgerton series by Quinn when the books first came out. They were very much wallpaper historical romance and this adaptation is even more wallpapery, but that wallpaper is really pretty. Eye candy characters, especially Simon, lovely costumes and settings. Maybe would have made an okay movie or a two-part miniseries for those who don't mind fairy-tale historical inaccuracy.

[Carol]

OLT wrote: "I read the Bridgerton series by Quinn when the books first came out. They were very much wallpaper historical romance and this adaptation is even more wallpapery, but that wallpaper is really prett..."

I think I read the first two or three and then lost interest. I watched the series and found it somewhat entertaining, but I'm not waiting eagerly for the next addition. I'm sure I'll watch it though.

I do recommend "The Kominsky Method."

[HR-ML]

Kominsky has Michael Douglas?

[Carol]

Yes, funny and touching, especially if you're of a certain age.

[HR-ML]

Thanks Carol.

[OLT]

HR-ML wrote: "Kominsky has Michael Douglas?"

It also has Kathleen Turner. Remember her from Romancing the Stone?

[HR-ML]

Yes, I saw Kathleen in a play about 3 yrs ago, about drug abuse.

[Roberta2]

I will admit that I will probably watch the second season of Bridgerton. The first was certainly gorgeous. Beautiful actors, beautiful scenery and costumes, fun music.

I did read most of the Bridgerton series except for the last 2 I seem to remember. I haven't read any of the prequels. Has anyone read those? What did you think if you did?

[HR-ML]

I liked the Bridgerton book series and read about 6 of them. Sorry read no prequels.

[OLT]

Roberta2 wrote: "I will admit that I will probably watch the second season of Bridgerton. The first was certainly gorgeous. Beautiful actors, beautiful scenery and costumes, fun music.

I did read most of the Brid..."

The prequels, IMO, are written for people decades younger than I am. As I age, I have become less and less interested in reading books by Julia Quinn. The more she writes, the fluffier the stories are.

[HR-ML]

Julia and I parted ways around 2012: her stories had a sameness to me. I read other authors. To each her/ his own.

[Danker]

Did you know that:
In the 18th century London the condom industry was dominated by two separate female traders; Mrs Phillips and Mrs Perkins. Mrs Phillips made and sold condoms for 35 years becoming a well-known name.
I just read a thread on Twitter ..
https://twitter.com/amoroushistpod/st...

[OLT]

Danker wrote: "Did you know that:
In the 18th century London the condom industry was dominated by two separate female traders; Mrs Phillips and Mrs Perkins. Mrs Phillips made and sold condoms for 35 years becomin..."

Thanks, Danker. I don't know how you uncover all these little gems and nuggets of history, but please keep sharing.

[OLT]

Thanks to Danker I found this article online and now know how fallopian tubes got their name.

https://wellcomecollection.org/articl...

[OLT]

And this:https://www.lindaleegraham.com/seven-...

We should be thankful for Trojans.

[Roberta2]

Another reason I love checking in to see the latest posts. I learn about the history of condoms.

[HR-ML]

Danker----

Thanks for sharing your varied interest in history, poetry, books and so on. Who knew London's 18C condom industry was cornered by 2 woman? 'Cool beans' as my friend would say.

[OLT]

This Lisa Unger Baskin collection should be interesting. 500 years of women's work.https://www.gazettenet.com/Lisa-Baski...

[Danker]

OLT - thanks for your shares.
The Wellcome article is great. Condoms made of Tortoiseshell? Hard to imagine, but I tried ...
Thanks also for the link to the Baskin collection. I’m a devotee of rediscovered female history and follow many bloggers and history sites, including ones written by HR authors.
I’ve known of Louise Bourgeois Boursier for years and I’m almost certain I’ve mentioned her here. She travelled through France, with the King’s blessing, training midwives - and was even influential in Britain. It’s a real pity that male doctors subsequently demonised her work, successfully depicting midwives as drunken incompetents. Heard of Phillis Wheatley and Merrian on a US blog called Brain Pickings. I searched Google and was able to read some of Wheatley’s poems online. Not my cup of tea, but intriguing. She was also a celebrity who was too soon forgotten.
Merrian left her husband and small children to travel to the other side of the world to pursue her ambitions and to perfect her art. A couple of years ago I bought a reprint of her illustrations and observations. It’s gorgeous work. And it’s great that it is again being recognised and celebrated.

[Danker]

Link to Wheatley’s poems, written in the late 1700s. I’m fairly certain most American schools ignored them when teaching the history of poetry in the US.

https://books.google.com.au/books/abo...

[Danker]

Finally, re condoms - I remember reading a HR where the hero slipped on a condom tied with pink ribbons and being amused by the author’s inventiveness. Now, thanks to your share OLT, for the first time I know that the scene instead illustrated her excellent research skills. Wish I could remember the title of the book. And I now know about the recent resurgence of usage of the female condom in Africa. I had no idea of the Zimbabwean movement or the subsequent Gates funding.

[Danker]

Thanks Hr-M - just got The Chainmaker’s Daughter. However, I’ve put it aside, for now. Theme is very grim. When I’m feeling more joyous I will pull it from my unread pile.

[OLT]

Danker, thanks for the info about Wheatley. I would like to think that she was studied in poetry and literature classes here, at least on the university level, but have no idea. But what a fascinating life. Incredible to think she was a published poet in the 1700s.

[HR-ML]

Danker----

Chainmaker's Dtr looks gritty and grim. But maybe it has hope as it's core?

[Vivienne]

I don't know if any of you will be interested in this, but I really like the way this blogger writes. I have found her articles easy to read, well researched and very addictive. It’s like going down a rabbit hole in one century and resurfacing sometimes in a completely different century. It doesn't have to be like that but there are tantalising links in her articles and I can't resist them :)

http://rebeccastarrbrown.com

[Vivienne]

Thanks for all the links. I have been a long-time fan of Stephen Fry and usually enjoy watching/listening to him. He is a highly intelligent man, with a biting wit and is never at a loss for words, although I cringe when he demolishes someone with his tongue.

I haven't read the Bridgerton books nor watched the series on Netflix, although that doesn't stop them suggesting it to me every time I open Netflix.

On Netflix I have watched three good films lately (in my opinion, others will differ). Two are films set in WWII; 1) A Call to Spy: a true story of the first two women dropped by the SOE into occupied France, one English, as a radio operator; the other American, as a courier. 2) The Resistance Banker: also a true story, set in occupied Amsterdam. The third film is a charming Australian film set in Sydney in the 1950s titled "Ladies in Black".

[Carol]

I was looking through some of the books I read and came across this one. Way off our usual reading, but I read this many years ago, but it has stuck with me. Active Senior Living is 2.99 or KU. It is character driven, which I love, funny, poignant, and sometimes sad. I didn't find it depressing personally, just a story that stuck with me.

[HR-ML]

Per book blurb: warmth, wit and courage: sounds good.

[Carol]

HR-ML wrote: "Per book blurb: warmth, wit and courage: sounds good."

It looks like it's been rereleased because the edition I have doesn't show up on Amazon.

[HappyBookWorm2020]

Vivienne wrote: "I don't know if any of you will be interested in this, but I really like the way this blogger writes. I have found her articles easy to read, well researched and very addictive. It’s like going dow..."

Thanks, Vivienne, I liked that article.

[Vivienne]

HappyBookWorm2020 wrote: "Vivienne wrote: "I don't know if any of you will be interested in this, but I really like the way this blogger writes. I have found her articles easy to read, well researched and very addictive. It..."

HBW2020,

I'm glad you liked it, and you probably saw that there are many other articles. From all the ones I have read I think she does straightforward history with no partiality for a specific group or gender.

[HR-ML]

See rom movies folder below.

[HappyBookWorm2020]

I've been MIA for a few days. Just far too busy. I hope this week will be better.