Juliet by Ann Fortier

Juliet by Ann Fortier

This first novel by Ann Fortier transports you back to medieval Italy, but not to Verona, where Shakespeare chose to set his version of the tale of Romeo and Juliet.  Fortier takes us back to where the story actually took place...in Siena, Italy.  The story of Romeo and Juliet is based on the true tale of Romeo Marescotti and Giulietta Tolomei actually occurred in 1340 Siena.  And the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues is actually a feud between the contradas (neighborhoods) of the Tolomeis and the Salimbenis.

Having just visited Siena this past summer, the family names and the Siena locations in Fortier's novel are real.  Fortier does a marvellous job of weaving history and fiction together, and there are plenty of twists and turns in the story that will always keep you guessing.  In fact there were several occasions in which I exclaimed...WOW I didn't see that one coming.

American Julie Jacobs travels to Siena in search of her Italian heritage--and possibly an inheritance--only to discover she is descended from 14th-century Giulietta Tolomei.  Fortier sets up this plausible tale of Julie Jacobs and her twin sister Janice with the death of their Aunt and the reading of the will.  Julie and Janice went to live with their Aunt in the United States after their parents are supposedly killed in a car crash in Italy.  As Julie starts unraveling the mystery of her parents and her legacy, Fortier alternates chapters from present day mystery back to 1340 and actual tale of Romeo and Guilietta and the Salimbeni, Tolomeis and Marescotti families.

So if you are a fan of historical fiction, literary history, mystery and romance, you will love this story.

Supercapitalism

Supercapitalism by Robert Reich

Even though Reich wrote this book five years ago, it seems to be even more relevant today.  Supercapitalism, according to Reich, refers to a totally deregulated economy, no holds barred approach where corporations pretty much control our government.  Reich shows how widening inequality of income and wealth, greater job insecurity, and corporate corruption are merely the logical results of a system in which politicians are more beholden to the influence of business lobbyists than to the voters who elected them. 

Reich contends deregulation, weakening of worker's rights, globalization and greater competition has brought on this era of "supercapitalism".   In this era of social darwinism, those who seize their opportunities in highly competitive environments tend to survive and prosper. 

Even though this book was written three years before the U.S. Supreme Court decision "Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission," (2010) which basically declared corporations as people, Reich seems to have anticipated such a decision.  In the final chapters he frequently claims corporations are not people and cannot behave as people.  They can not determine between right and wrong or make moral decisions.  The corporation is only concerned with profit and if they can provide a return for their shareholders. 

Reich argues a clear separation of politics and capitalism is necessary in order to foster an enviroment in which both business and government thrive.  He states capitalism should be in the service of democracy, and not the other way around.  We are fast becoming a plutocracy under the current situation.  Money has too much influence on politics, resulting in politicians being more beholding to their donors than to their constituents.

The List

The List by Martin Fletcher

What was it like to have been one of the few Jews that managed to get out of Germany, Austria or Poland before the Nazis rolled in and took control?  This story, written as a novel by journalist and foreign correspondent Martin Fletcher, is basically a story about Fletcher's parents.  Fletcher incorporates his family's story into his narrative of a young Jewish family, Holocaust survivors, struggling to stay afloat in their adopted country of London, England.  This poignant and heart wrenching story opens in London with the celebration of Germany's surrender.  But the war does not end with VE Day for Georg and Edith, a newly married couple, anxiously hoping to start a family and a new life, while at the same time awaiting word on the fate of their loved ones.  They each keep a List of the names of their family members. 

As they struggle to start over, each day brings the anguish of no news about their family or confirmation of another family member or friend who was murdered in the Holocaust.  They tearfully cross off another name from their list.  Edith eventually gets word her beautiful cousin Anna has survived and will be coming to London.  But Anna's stay in Auschwitz has changed her beyond recognition.  Fletcher not only successfully recreates this world where the survivors are caught in limbo, but he also reopens a painful chapter in London history. 

While Edith and Georg struggle to rebuild their lives, they face the threat of a growing anti-semitism movement in London.  Englishmen are starting to resent the Jewish refugees taking homes and jobs, as their soldiers return home to unemployment and shortage of housing.  They want to expel the Jewish refugees and send them back to their home countries.  After Edith makes a speech at a meeting about repatriation petitions, Georg becomes a target for retribution. Their mysterious neighbor, Ismael, an Egyptian Arab living at the boarding house, steps in to protect Georg.  This introduces a whole new subplot with possibly deadly consequences for Georg, Edith and Anna.

This deeply touching novel explores the themes of hope, prejudice, loss and love. It is both a breathless thriller of postwar sabotage and a heartrending and historically accurate portrait of an almost forgotten era.  This is what is meant when they say a good book transports you to another time and place.

My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison

My Lady Judge: A mystery of Medieval Ireland 

by Cora Harrison

I actually bought this book in a bookstore in Milan, Italy four years ago.  I really enjoy this kind of historical fiction.  Harrison does a tremendous job of recreating life and the kinds of characters in medieval Ireland.  At this in Irish or Celtic history, it is not unusual for a woman to hold such a powerful and prestigious position as a Brehon (Judge).  And Mara is a strong, and intelligent protagonist, who rules not only with her brain, but equally with her heart.  Mara, appointed by the King, is the Brehon for the Irish kingdom of the Burrens, located on the western seaboard of Ireland, in what is now Connemara County.

Mara uses her powers of observation to solve crimes, whether it is the murder of one of her assistants or the disappearance of a neighbor's cow.  There is quite a list of interesting characters, all nicely developed by Harrison.  While she is introducing and setting up the plot, she cleverly weaves a description of specific ancient Brehon laws and how Mara administers these ancient laws.  As previously stated, the novel is set in medieval times, just at the time that a young Henry VIII ascends to the throne of England, which follows a much more harsh and brutal system of Roman laws.  As I have said before with other well written and researched historical novels, it is an exciting way to learn about different aspects of history.  In addition to the history lesson, you will find yourself immersed in the plot, the characters and the conflict that naturally develops between the Catholic faith, trying to establish a foothold in Ireland, and the people's adherence and belief in ancient Celtic practices and laws.

This is a series of novels by Cora Harrison with the Lady Judge Mara as the main character.  You can't go wrong if you choose to introduce yourself to any of Harrison's Brehon Mara's stories.

Van Gogh: The Life

Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith

I believe you have to be a Van Gogh fanatic, as I am, if you are willing to pick up this 950+ page biography on this phenomenal painter, who lived to see only one of his paintings sell.  This is a heavy read in more ways than one.  The authors are the Pulitzer Prize winning team who wrote Jackson Pollock: an American Saga.

The first 400 plus pages primarily deal with Van Gogh's life before he decided to start painting.  While it was informative, it did get to be somewhat repetitive in terms of his relationship with his parents, his behavior and his uncertainty of what he really wanted to do with his life.  This part of the book did tend to drag at times.  When Van Gogh made the decision to start painting, is when the book became more engaging and interesting.  The best parts of the book include the author's descriptions of Van Gogh's thinking and motivation as he was creating his many masterpieces.  

Working with the full cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Naifeh and Smith had access to a wealth of previously untapped materials. They draw liberally from the artist’s famously eloquent letters, while delving into hundreds of unpublished family correspondences, illuminating with poignancy the wanderings of Van Gogh’s troubled, restless life.

The authors also call into question the accuracy of Van Gogh's supposed "suicide".  There has always been questions about whether Van Gogh really shot himself.  Naifeh and Smith carefully analyzed the accounts and information surrounding Van Gogh's death, and in the Appendix of the book provide a "legally defensible theory" that Van Gogh died as a result of an accidental shooting from a young teenager that frequently harassed him as Van Gogh went into the fields to paint.

This is an exceptionally detailed, and at times compellingly readable, but ultimately heartbreaking portrait of the creative genius of Vincent van Gogh. The fact that I was traveling to Provence (Arles and St. Remy) this summer also compelled me to start reading this biography.  It is ironic that most of Van Gogh's contemporaries and family never believed he would amount to anything.  In fact this biography reveals how frequently Van Gogh received little to no inspiration or motivation to paint.  Only his brother Theo provided encouragement and support, but even then his support was lacking at times.  This constant criticism obviously wore on Van Gogh, as is illustrated in these words from Van Gogh to his brother Theo, "As a painter I shall never amount to anything important, I am absolutely sure of it."

However, this other statement written by Vincent while living in Arles, in southern France, perhaps best illustrates his passion for painting.  "My aim in life is to make pictures and drawings, as many and as well as I can, then, at the end of my life, I hope to pass away, looking back with love and tender regret, and thinking, 'Oh, the pictures I might have made!"  While he never lived to experience what his paintings have meant to society, thank goodness he persevered.  In a very short time, Van Gogh created some of the world's greatest works of art.  "Oh, the pictures he might have made!"

2012 RHS 11th and 12th Grade Summer Reading List

RHS 11th & 12th Grade Summer Reading List

When entering your comments, be sure to include the Title of the Book you read first before typing your comments about the book.

Be sure to sign your name at the end of your comments.

2012 RHS 10th Grade Summer Reading List

RHS 10th Grade Summer Reading List

When entering your comments, be sure to include the Title of the Book you read first before typing your comments about the book.

Be sure to sign your name at the end of your comments.

2012 RHS 9th Grade Summer Reading List

RHS 9th Grade Summer Reading List

When entering your comments, be sure to include the Title of the Book you read first before typing your comments about the book.

Be sure to sign your name at the end of your comments.

The Innocent

The Innocent  by Taylor Stevens

Taylor Stevens, the author, has a great series going.  The Innocent is her second novel based on her intriguing and complex female protaganist, Vanessa Michael Munroe. This is an impressive follow-up to her first (best seller), The Informationist, and she definitely has me hooked.  This is a fast paced, intricate thriller, in which Munroe is hired by her best friend to extract a young girl from a religious cult, called The Chosen, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The girl, Hannah, was kidnapped from her mother, eight years ago, supposedly by her father, who is still a member of the cult.  Hannah's mother, and Munroe's best friend, Logan, had both escaped from this cult.

This particular storyline strikes close to home for the author.  According to her brief bio, Taylor Stevens is herself a religious cult survivor.  She was raised in communes across the globe and denied an education beyond the sixth grade.  She escaped from that life style and now lives in Texas.

When Logan and the girl's mother finally determine Hannah is being held somewhere in Buenos Aires, Logan, well aware of Vanessa's special skills as an informationist, hires Munroe to rescue Hannah from the cult.  Munroe once again is teamed up with Miles Bradford, a former special forces turned private contractor, who was introduced in Stevens' first novel.  Bradford is one of the few people who really understands and knows the capabilities of Vanessa, and they make a terrific team.  As the reader, you become invested in these characters, and you genuinely care about them. 

The Innocent is beautifully written, well paced, suspenseful with smart dialogue.  Stevens has joined my list of must read authors, and I will be waiting anxiously for her third Vanessa Munroe novel.

A Night of Long Knives

A Night of Long Knives by Rebecca Cantrell

This is the second in her series of Hannah Vogel novels.  Hannah is a journalist, who in the first novel, A Trace of Smoke, kidnaps her adopted son, Anton, from SA leader Ernst Rohm, who wants to believe the boy is his

son. (As a point of reference, I have not read the first Hannah Vogel novel.) She flees Germany and vows never to return to her homeland until Hitler, Rohm and the Nazis are gone. Yet here she is on a journalism junket, with son Anton in tow, to write about a zeppelin trip from South American to Switzerland.  The zeppelin is diverted to Germany and lands in Munich, where Hannah and her son of captured by Rohm. 

The reason I picked up this book was because I thought it would recreate the time period of when Hitler came to power, and what life was like for the people of Germany.  Ever since reading the City of Shadows by Arianna Franklin, I have been looking for other novels or nonfiction stories which could transport the reader back in time.  There is a section in City of Shadows where you literally felt as if you were in Berlin just as the Nazis were infiltrating all aspects of life.  In that novel, there were times you felt you needed to look over your shoulder to make sure you were not being followed.  The atmosphere was stifling.

While there is a lot of looking over your shoulder taking place in A Night of Long Knives, you never really feel the tension or the fear, as you do in City of Shadows.  I believe the reason is Hannah feels more like an observer or visitor to Berlin, than a native.  As the reader, you feel like you are just watching Hannah, as she goes from one calamity to the next.  You never really feel vested in her character.  While Cantrell is trying to place the reader in Hannah's mind, as she constantly poses one question after another of herself.  The problem is she never seems to have any answers, so the questions become rhetorical and redundant.

Based on the Title, I also was hoping to gain greater understanding and insight into this particular event in Nazi Germany.  However, the night of long knives takes place before you realize it.  It really only serves as a plot device, allowing Hannah an opportunity to escape the clutches of Ernst Rohm.  According to this story, Rohm is arrested by Hitler himself, and eventually executed.

While the review in Booklist claims Cantrell "nails the prewar German landscape", the review in Publishers Weekly states, "Cantrell’s sequel...will disappoint those expecting a realistic portrayal of 1934 Nazi Germany."  I would agree with PW in this case.  If you are looking for an atmospheric and realistic portrayal of Nazi Germany, there are much better novels and even nonfiction stories, such as City of Shadows (See Feb. 5, 2011 post) and Eric Larson's In The Garden of Beasts (See October 2011 post) that will transport you back to Nazi Germany.

Stieg Larsson: The Real Story of the Man Who Played with Fire

Stieg Larsson: The Real Story of the Man Who Played With Fire  by Jan-Erik Pettersson

Ever since reading the Millennium Trilogy and learning about the tragic circumstances of the author's sudden death, I have felt compelled to learn more about this new Swedish author, Stieg Larsson.  And the more I have read about Larsson, the more I feel the literary world has lost a strong, passionate voice for women's rights and social justice. 

Pettersson shows how Stieg's energetic championing of social justice and women's rights characterized his life as well as his work, ultimately culminating in the Millennium Trilogy and particularly the characters of the unforgettable Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blomkvist. Larsson started his career as a journalist and eventually established his own magazine, called Expo, devoted to monitoring right-wing extremists.  In fact Larsson became an expert on extremist groups and was frequently interviewed or asked to consult with other countries, governments and political leaders.

Luckily, this book is not so much a biography, as it is a reflection and personal insight and explanation into a colleague and friend and what motivated him.  While the book starts out somewhat slow and tedious as Pettersson gets bogged down into a description and history of the area in which Larsson grew up, it picks up as he shifts his focus to Larsson himself.  His research spans Larsson's full life (1954–2005) and includes substantial detail about Larsson's early interests in left-wing politics, which motivated him to monitor and counter the rise of neo-Nazi fascism in Sweden, a course that endangered his life.  Pettersson claims this was the main reason why Stieg and Eva, his partner, never married.  He did not want to endanger himself and Eva by having information about themselves on a public register.  Pettersson provides several examples of deadly retaliation on journalists and the general public, when these extremist groups feel threatened.  Consider the current case of mass killings in Norway.

Pettersson claims Stieg had a sense that his books would be successful.  He was involved in the planning, production and negotiations in having rights to his books picked up by publishers in other countries. Stieg also was aware a film company in Sweden was interested in adapting his novels to the screen. Fans of the novels will appreciate this behind the scenes and insightful look into the Man Who Played with Fire.

The House of Silk: a Sherlock Holmes Novel

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

It has been a long wait, but Sherlock Holmes has returned.  The House of Silk is the first sanctioned Sherlock Holmes story by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate.  And they could not have chosen a better writer to tackle the style and tone of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.  Anthony Horowitz is a meticulous wordsmith, having penned a series of very successful novels, known as the Alex Rider series, but he was also the writer and creator of the BBC series, Foyle's War. 

Horowitz also is a Sherlock Holmes expert, and it definitely shows in this intricately woven tale of three interrelated mysteries.  Holmes is still in top form using his powers of observation and deductive reasoning as he alone connects the dots between three different mysteries. Horowitz gets everything right-the familiar narrative voice, brilliant deductions, a very active role for Watson, and a perplexing and disturbing series of puzzles to unravel.  As a student of 19th Century literature, Horowitz stays true to the master himself, Conan Doyle, in terms of authenticity of plot, language, and characters.

Speaking of characters, they are all here...from Dr. Watson, Inspector Lastrade, Mrs. Hudson, brother Mycroft, and Sherlock's crew known as the Baker Street Irregulars.   The story begins, as most Sherlock Holmes stories do, with a visit from a potential client to 221B Baker Street.  This client is a fine arts dealer who is seeking Holmes' help, because he is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap - a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America.  Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much more.  I mustn't give anymore away.  So come Watson...the Game's afoot!

I know I will be and I am sure other devoted Sherlockians will be hoping for Horowitz to convince Watson to reveal other Sherlock Holmes cases, which he was unable to publish before.  

The Informationist

The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

If you have been lamenting the loss of Stieg Larsson and his "one of a kind" female protaganist, Lisbeth Salander, you will find some satisfaction in Taylor Stevens' first novel, The Informationist.  Her female protaganist, Vanessa (Michael) Munroe, is a breath of fresh air.  She is an informationist and a linguist with the ability to blend into any country and obtain the knowledge sought by her high-paying clients.  Her client in this case is a distraught father, whose daughter has gone missing while traveling in Africa.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is both beautiful and androgynous at the same time. She is a chameleon by nature.  To some she is Munroe, to others, she can pass herself off as the boy Michael and to a select few, she is Nessa.  She has an encyclopedic mind, that stores, sorts and processes information.  Taylor Stevens has penned a fast-paced, gripping, edgy mystery with a heroine you will come to admire and respect.  As a huge fan of Larsson's heroine, Lisbeth Salander, it was exciting to run into another volatile and exotic female character, that will leave you wanting to learn more about her, just as Larsson did in his masterful Millennium trilogy.  I immediately went out and bought Stevens' next Vanessa Munroe thriller, The Innocent.  Stay tuned for that review.  Hopefully a studio will pick up the rights to these books.

The Map of Time

Nothing is as it appears to be in Félix J. Palma's The Map of Time!

Just when you think you have an idea of where this unique novel is going, it changes directions.  There are more twists and turns in this 600+ page novel (though it does not read like a long novel) than there are in a garden maze.  Palma mixes in a little bit of everything in his first novel: love, sex, adventure, mystery, science fiction, historical and imaginary characters, murder, time travel and much more.  Set in Victorian London, you will encounter Jack the Ripper, Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man, Bram Stoker, Henry James and H.G. Wells.  Palma weaves a historical fantasy as imaginative as it is exciting.  He will have you questioning what is real and what isn't.  So buckle your seat belts.  You don't want to develop whiplash.  AND Enjoy the ride!!!

Venice: Pure City by Peter Ackroyd

 

Venice: Pure City
by Peter Ackroyd

Venice is perhaps one of the most fascinating and mysterious cities in the world.  Having been fortunate enough to have visited this city on the lagoon, I have been eagerly looking for a book that would tell me the history of this magical and mystical place.  So when I discovered this book at B&N, I could not pass it up.  This floating city was the center of trade for more than a thousand years. Venice once housed the largest shipbuilding facility in the world, dominated the sea trade throughout the Mediterranean . This book will provide you a unique view of Venice from various perspectives.  Noted author and biographer, Peter Ackroyd, interweaves history with impressions on a host of topics about living in Venice: the light and color, Carnival, prisons, prostitutes, death, the Venetian republic's extraordinarily long existence, its artists, and the claustrophobic life of the city.  He covers the basics of Venetian geography, hydrology, and climate before turning to its history and architecture.

If you are planning to visit Venice anytime soon, this would be a great book to pick up and read before you travel.

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Angel of the Opera

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Angel of the Opera by Sam Siciliano

As a Sherlockian, I naturally gravitate to the wide range of Conan Doyle spin offs.  This particular series, "The further adventures of Sherlock Holmes", does not do too bad of a job of recreating the world's most famous consulting detective.  However, this particular case does not illustrate or describe Holmes' keen sense of observation and deductive reasoning.  That element of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories is what always grabbed my attention.  As Holmes would, somewhat arrogantly, explain how he reached certain conclusions, it always helped the reader, as well as his supporting characters, to understand how he ends up solving the crime.
 
Siciliano in this rendition, replaces Doctor Watson with a cousin to Sherlock Holmes, who also happens to be a doctor.  I love the tie in with the Phantom of the Opera, which just so happens to be one of my favorite musicals.  The author does a great job of recreating the intricate and labyrinthine design and structure of the Paris Opera House. 

Sherlock Holmes is summoned across the English Channel to the famous Opera House. Once there, he is challenged to discover the true motivations and secrets of the notorious phantom, who rules its depths with passion and defiance. The author does a nice job of connecting the opening of the novel to how Holmes resolves the phantom's escape.  Suffice to say that Holmes does have a soft spot for beautiful women.

The Enemy Within by Martin Dillon

The Enemy Within by Martin Dillon

This particular book was a gift from our taxi driver, Gerard McGlade, who provided us a living history tour of Belfast, the Falls Road (Catholic area) and the Shankill Road (Protestant area). His knowledge of the Troubles and regular references to a variety of books naturally triggered my interest. When I asked him for a list of the titles he referenced during our three hour tour through the "troubled" neighborhoods, he pulled this book out of his briefcase and handed it to me as a gift, after autographing it. So reading this book has special significance for me. And believe me, I was not disappointed. First of all it is written by Martin Dillon, a reporter, author and expert on terrorism in Northern Ireland. 

The subtitle of this book is: The IRA war against the British. Reviews of Dillons' books, including the Enemy Within, praises his uncanny ability to get key players and individuals from all sides of the issue to talk to him. This is a realistic and at times riveting historical perspective and analysis of the decades long conflict in Northern Ireland between the Protestants, the Catholics, the IRA, Sinn Fein, the British troops, and the Irish Republic and British Governments. Dillon provides an inside look at the strategy and tactics employed by the IRA in their effort to drive the British out of Northern Ireland. The IRA and its War Council firmly believed they had to take the "war" to the cities of Great Britain, or else their efforts to gain independence and representation in governing Northern Ireland would never be noticed or accomplished.

Ultimately, while you may not agree with their tactics and abhor the loss of innocent civilians as a result of those tactics, you will have to admit that the IRA strategy was successful. Dillon also covers the political side of the conflict from all perspectives, and how each side eventually came to the realization that compromise was necessary if there was ever going to be peace in Northern Ireland. I believe the IRA tactics did play a role in finally bringing the British around to inviting Sinn Fein (Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness) to the negotiating table. Dillon's prose is insightful, analytical and thoroughly engaging. This is a must read for any student of Irish history, who is seeking some understanding of what made all sides tick in the centuries old conflict between the British and the Irish.

Woman of the House by Alice Taylor

Woman of the House by Alice Taylor



This was one of the many books we bought in Kinsale, Ireland, after our cab driver, Dermot, recommended Alice Taylor as an Irish author who sets her novels in the rural, southwestern Ireland and does a beautiful job of conveying the lifestyle and traditions of people living in this ruggedly beautiful part of Ireland.

Taylor is a gifted storyteller, whose novels are primarily character driven.  After reading just this first novel by Taylor, I get a feeling that while her stories maybe somewhat predictable, you don't mind going along for the ride.  While there will be some slight twists and turns in the plot, you know, somehow, everything will work out okay in the end.  You will stick with them because you ultimately care about her characters and you want to find out how they end up.

We picked up about five of her novels (Taylor is a prolific writer, penning more than 46 novels and other books) while we were in Kinsale, and as I work my way through them, I will report on whether her stories continue to engage and entertain.

Figures of Silk by Vanora Bennett

Figures of Silk by Vanora Bennett

I am a sucker for historical novels, and believe it or not, this one was extremely worthwhile.  It deals with the plight of women in 15th century London. Women did not have many options back then, you can marry a wealthy man or serve as a mistress to a wealthy landowner or work in some trade.  Figures in Silk centers on the lives of two very different sisters. One is beautiful, flighty, and bored with her new husband, Jane Shore, who quickly catches the eye of the newly crowned Edward IV and serves as his mistress. Her younger sister, Isabel, follows a different path when she marries into the house of Claver, one of England's finest silk-trading enterprises. When tragedy strikes and her husband is killed, Isabel finds herself thrust into an unexpected role in her late husband's family business, run by her mother in law. 

She discovers a new life and decides to apprentice as a silk woman.  She learns the trade from the ground up and eventually becomes one of the more powerful members of the merchant class in the silk trade.  Any reader who enjoys a strong female protaganist combined with historical events and details, will be fascinated by this tumultuous time period in London.  While you might be frustrated by some of Isabel's decisions, ultimately I believe you will be more than satisfied by the rich historical detail that Bennett provides both in terms of the silk trade and the political intrigue surrounding the crown.

33 by Arthur Conan Doyle

33 by Arthur Conan Doyle

33 as in 33 short stories by the creator of Sherlock Holmes.  This is quite a diverse collection of short stories by Conan Doyle. If you are a fan of Doyle's most famous character, you will enjoy several of these stories.  None of them deal with Sherlock Holmes or even detective mysteries.  Instead, they are a unique collection of stories which demonstrates Doyle's versatility in storytelling.  Several of them have moral twists of fate for the main characters that will surprise you. This is a collection of short stories compiled by John Michael Gibson and Richard Green, who are Conan Doyle experts who have searched and compiled comprehensive collections of Doyle's little known works.