November Book of the Month: The Time Traveling Fashionista at the Palace of Marie Antoinette

Author:  Bianca Turetsky

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

 

Publication date: 9/18/2012

 

Pages: 272

 

Age range: 8 - 12 Years


About the Book: 

What if a beautiful dress could take you back in time?

Louise Lambert's best friend's thirteenth birthday party is fast approaching, so of course the most important question on her mind is, "What am I going to wear?!" Slipping on an exquisite robin's egg blue gown during another visit to the mysterious Traveling Fashionista Vintage Sale, Louise finds herself back in time once again, swept up in the glory of palace life, fancy parties, and enormous hair as a member of the court of France's most infamous queen, Marie Antoinette.

But between cute commoner boys and glamorous trips to Paris, life in the palace isn't all cake and couture. Can Louise keep her cool-and her head!-as she races against the clock to get home?

Meet the Author:

Bianca Turetsky is the author of the stylish, tween-friendly Time-Traveling Fashionista series. After graduating from Tufts University, Bianca began work for the artist/filmmaker Julian Schnabel, where she has been running his studio for the past eight years and was an assistant on the Academy Award nominated film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. She currently lives in a cozy studio apartment in Brooklyn, New York, that houses her very extensive and much loved vintage collection. The third book in her series, The Time-Traveling Fashionista and Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, will be released in Fall 2013.

What people are saying:

“Turetsky delivers her enjoyable history lesson through the eyes of a girl who knows every major and minor fashion designer, a character sure to appeal to her target audience, as will the time-traveling theme. Appealing illustrations aid readers’ imaginations.”-KIRKUS

 

about the first book in the series, THE TIME-TRAVELING FASHIONISTA ON BOARD THE TITANIC

 

“Turetsky’s debut breezily incorporates past and current pop culture references; with a spunky main character and breathless descriptions of glamorous clothing, it’s entertaining wish fulfillment …” -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Bottom line: totally recommend! Plus, the pencil sketches of gowns throughout the book give it a very reading-your-awesome-best-friend’s-diary feel.” –Seventeen Magazine

Scandalous Book of the Month: The Churchills in Love and War

Title:  THE CHURCHILLS IN LOVE AND WAR

Author:  Mary S. Lovell

Hardcover: 624 pages

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1St Edition edition

Pub Date:  May 9, 2011

Description:  Of all Britain’s great families perhaps none has been so overshadowed by the force of one member’s personality as the Churchills. And yet in this vivid and brilliant tale of the dynasty – of which Gladstone remarked, ‘There never was a Churchill from John of Marlborough down who had either morals or principles’– theirs turns out to be a narrative of epic breadth and drama.


From the First Duke of Marlborough – soldier of genius, restless empire-builder and cuckolder of Charles II – onwards, the Churchills have been politicians, gamblers and profligates, heroes and womanisers. The family continued to flourish in the nineteenth and twentieth-century, achieving power and influence in both Britain and America, helped by marriages to the ravishing and wealthy New York society beauties Jennie Jerome and Consuelo Vanderbilt. Mary S Lovell tells a gripping story of momentous times that include the death of Queen Victoria, two world wars, the Wall St Crash and Great Depression, Women’s Emancipation, and beyond. She charts triumphant political and military campaigns; the construction of great houses; quiet, domestic tragedies; disastrous marriages – ending in venereal disease, guns by the bedside and papal annulment – including those of Winston’s children; and profoundly happy ones such as his own to Clementine Hozier.


The Churchills is a richly layered portrait of an extraordinary set of men and women – grandly ambitious, regularly impecunious, impulsive, arrogant and brave. And towering above the Churchill clan is the figure of Winston - his failures and his triumphs shown in a new and revealing context - but ultimately our ‘greatest Briton’ .

I had the chance to hear Mary S. Lovell speak two weeks ago in New York at Scandinavia House thanks to the Royal Oak Foundation.  Long an admirer of her biographies, it was wonderful to hear her talk about a book that she has such passion for.  She took us through a quick tour of the Churchills focusing mainly (as does the book) on Randolph, Winston and his descendents. Afterwards, I was lucky enough to have her sign a copy of the book. I also got to tell her how much I've enjoyed her books on Amelia Earhart, Jane Digby and The Mitfords, all of which I have used in my research. Afterwards at the reception, I had a lovely chat with a friend of hers, who mentioned that Lovell's book on WWII spy Betty Pack had never been published in the UK.  Apparently because of classified information about the spy.

The book is huge, over 600 pages, so I've been taking short dips between the pages. It's a hard book to put down, particularly the sections on the family patriarch, John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough. I've been to Blenheim Palace, the seat of the Marlboroughs, and also to the Cabinet War Rooms, but I still haven't been to Chartwell, which is on my list of things to do the next time, I'm in England.

For lovers of English history, I can't highly recommend this book enough.

May Book of the Month: Women Heroes of World War II

Title:  WOMEN HEROES OF WORLD WAR II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance and Rescue
Author:  Kathryn J. Atwood
Publisher:  Chicago Review Press
Pub Date:  March 1, 2011

"These stories will restore your faith in the human spirit and encourage us all to remember to do what is right, because it is right. Women Heroes of World War II is a must read for anyone who has ever asked themselves: 'What can I do? Can one person really make a difference?'" —Kenneth Koskodan, author of No Greater Ally; The Untold Story of Poland’s Forces in World War II


“Kathryn Atwood offers a new face to World War II heroes to include young women who left traditional feminine roles to carry guns, falsify papers, and shelter the hunted.” —Rabbi Malka Drucker and Gay Block, coauthors of Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust

“Inspiring accounts of the lives of women--some of them still in their teens--whose courage made a difference in the dark days of World War II." —Rita Kramer, author of Flames in the Field: The Story of Four SOE Agents in Occupied France

“Those in Women Heroes of World War II surely played a major role in turning the tide of the war in the Allies’ favor. Kathryn Atwood’s book will be a wonderful inspiration to girls and women.” —Judith Pearson, author of The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America’s Greatest Female Spy

What it's about:

Noor Inayat Khan was the first female radio operator sent into occupied France and transferred crucial messages. Johtje Vos, a Dutch housewife, hid Jews in her home and repeatedly outsmarted the Gestapo. Law student Hannie Schaft became involved in the most dangerous resistance work--sabotage, weapons transference, and assassinations. In these pages, young readers will meet these and many other similarly courageous women and girls who risked their lives to help defeat the Nazis.

Twenty-six engaging and suspense-filled stories unfold from across Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, and the United States, providing an inspiring reminder of women and girls’ refusal to sit on the sidelines around the world and throughout history.

An overview of World War II and summaries of each country’s entrance and involvement in the war provide a framework for better understanding each woman’s unique circumstances, and resources for further learning follow each profile. Women Heroes of World War II is an invaluable addition to any student’s or history buff’s bookshelf.

My thoughts:  I can't recommend this book highly enough.  Although it's written for young adults, grown-ups will be intrigued by the stories of these brave women who risked their lives willingly during World War II for a cause they believed in. You don't have to be a World War II buff either to enjoy the real life exploits of these women.  The book is divided by country starting with Germany and ending with the United States. Some of the women (Sophie Scholl, Marlene Dietrich, Martha Gellhorn and Josephine Baker who is also featured in Scandalous Women) will probably be familiar to readers, but most of the women featured in the book probably won't be.  The stories run the gamut of women who came from privileged backgrounds to women who had nothing, but each and every one proved that they were more than just pretty faces. They were strong, courageous, women who refused to sit idly by while the war was going on, who made as big a contribution to the war effort as the men did, and who should be remembered every single day for their sacrifices.  I enjoyed this book so much that it is going on my keeper shelves of books that I regularly dip into for inspiration.

Verdict:  Highly Recommended

Book of the Month - Sisters of Fortune: The Caton Sisters at Home and Abroad

Sisters of Fortune:  The Caton Sisters at Home and Abroad
Author:  Jehanne Wake
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, April 1, 2011

From the Front Cover:

As gripping as the best historical novel, Sisters of Fortune is the story of the exuberant Marianne, Bess, Louisa, and Emily Caton, the American sisters who enthralled the highest levels of English Regency society decades before the notorious Dollar Princesses of the Victorian era. The Caton sisters were descended from prominent first settlers of Maryland, brought up by their wealthy grandfather Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, and were expected to “marry a plantation.” Instead, their grandfather made sure that they were well educated, raising four beautiful and charming young women who were unusually independent, intelligent, fascinated by politics, clever with money, and very romantic.
Arriving in Britain, the Caton sisters swept into the set of the Duke of Wellington and went on to forge their own destinies in the face of intense prejudice against Americans and Catholics. After capturing the heart of the Duke of Wellington, who could never marry her, Marianne shocked the world by marrying his brother Richard, Marquess Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and taking a prominent place as a Catholic Yankee among the Protestant Anglo-Irish. Emily married Scots- Canadian John McTavish, heir to Montreal’s North West Company, and stayed home in Maryland, where she managed the family’s estates and wealth. Louisa became the Duchess of Leeds and a member of Queen Victoria’s court, while Bess made a fortune speculating in the stock market.

Based on the sisters’ intimate, unpublished letters and lavishly illustrated, Sisters of Fortune is a portrait of four lively and opinionated women, much of it told in their own voices as they gossip about prominent people of their time, advise family members on political and financial strategy, soothe each other’s sorrows, and rejoice in each other’s triumphs. It is also a meticulously researched history of Anglo-American relations and the political, financial, and social world of the nineteenth century. From post-revolutionary America’s White House and wealthiest plantations to Europe’s rarefied world of titled aristocracy, the story of Maryland’s Caton sisters is a stunning work of scholarship that is intimate in tone, sweeping in scope, and as compelling as any novel.

I have been dying for this book ever since I first heard about it last fall while surfing on Amazon.co.uk.  If America could be said to have an aristocracy the Caton sisters were certainly members. Descended from one of the first families to settle in the colony of Maryland, the Caton sisters had both beauty and vast wealth. While researching my blog post on Napoleon's sister-in-law Betsey Patterson, I had heard about Marianne Caton who was married to Betsey's brother Richard before eventually marrying The Duke of Wellington's brother.  This book is a joy to read and gives some insight into not only post-revolutionary America but also gives the reader an outsider's look at British society in the early 19th Century.  Long before Dollar Princesses like Consuelo Vanderbilt and Jennie Jerome took London by storm, there were the Caton sisters.

I hope to have an interview with the author Jehanne Wake in the next few weeks.  In the meantime, check out her website at http://www.jehannewake.com/ or buy the book at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon

Book of the Month: The Tin Ticket

THE TIN TICKET:  The Heroic Journey of Australia's Convict Women

AUTHOR:  Deborah J. Swiss

PUBLISHER:  Berkeley Publishing

PUB DATE:  October 2010

This month's Book of the Month is THE TIN TICKET: The Heroic Journey of Australia's Convict Women.  Since March is Women's History Month, and the theme this year is Survivors, I thought it more than appropriate.  The only convict's story that I was familiar with before reading this book was Mary Bryant's, a young Cornish woman, who managed to escape the penal colony and make her way back to the UK. These are the untold stories of the women who were not able to do that.You can find out more at the author's website: http://www.deborahswiss.com/

Synopsis:  Historian Deborah J. Swiss tells the heartbreaking, horrifying, and ultimately triumphant story of the women exiled from the British Isles and forced into slavery and savagery-who created the most liberated society of their time.

Agnes McMillan and Janet Houston were convicted for shoplifting. Bridget Mulligan stole a bucket of milk; Widow Ludlow Tedder, eleven spoons. For their crimes, they would be sent not to jail, but to ships teeming with other female convicts. Tin tickets, stamped with numbers, were hung around the women's necks, and the ships set out to carry them to their new home: Van Diemen's Land, later known as Tasmania, part of the British Empire's crown jewel, Australia. Men outnumbered women nine to one there, and few "proper" citizens were interested in emigrating. The deportation of thousands of petty criminals-the vast majority nonviolent first offenders-provided a convenient solution for the government.

Crossing Shark-infested waters, some died in shipwrecks during the four-month journey, or succumbed to infections and were sent to a watery grave. Others were impregnated against their will by their captors. They arrived as nothing more than property. But incredibly, as the years passed, they managed not only to endure their privation and pain but to thrive on their own terms, breaking the chains of bondage, and forging a society that treated women as equals and led the world in women's rights.

The Tin Ticket takes us to the dawn of the nineteenth century and into the lives of Agnes McMillan, whose defiance and resilience carried her to a far more dramatic rebellion; Agnes's best friend Janet Houston, who rescued her from the Glasgow wynds and was also transported to Van Diemen's Land; Ludlow Tedder, forced to choose just one of her four children to accompany her to the other side of the world; Bridget Mulligan, who gave birth to a line of powerful women stretching to the present day. It also tells the tale of Elizabeth Gurney Fry, a Quaker reformer who touched all their lives. Ultimately, it is the story of women discarded by their homeland and forgotten by history-who, by sheer force of will, become the heart and soul of a new nation.

 

February Book of the Month: Caesar's Wives

CAESARS' WIVES
by Annelise Freisenbruch
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster

Synopsis: In scandals and power struggles obscured by time and legend, the wives, mistresses, mothers, sisters, and daughters of the Caesars have been popularly characterized as heartless murderers, shameless adulteresses, and conniving politicians in the high dramas of the Roman court. Yet little has been known about who they really were and their true roles in the history-making schemes of imperial Rome’s ruling Caesars—indeed, how they figured in the rise, decline, and fall of the empire. Now, in Caesars’ Wives: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Roman Empire, Annelise Freisenbruch pulls back the veil on these fascinating women in Rome’s power circles, giving them the chance to speak for themselves for the first time. With impeccable scholarship and arresting storytelling, Freisenbruch brings their personalities vividly to life, from notorious Livia and scandalous Julia to Christian Helena. Starting at the year 30 BC, when Cleopatra, Octavia, and Livia stand at the cusp of Rome’s change from a republic to an autocracy, Freisenbruch relates the story of Octavian and Marc Antony’s clash over the fate of the empire—an archetypal story that has inspired a thousand retellings—in a whole new light, uncovering the crucial political roles these first "first ladies" played. From there, she takes us into the lives of the women who rose to power over the next five centuries—often amid violence, speculation, and schemes—ending in the fifth century ad, with Galla Placidia, who was captured by Goth invaders (and married to one of their kings). The politics of Rome are revealed through the stories of Julia, a wisecracking daughter who disgraced her father by getting drunk in the Roman forum and having sex with strangers on the speaker’s platform; Poppea, a vain and beautiful mistress who persuaded the emperor to kill his mother so that they could marry; Domitia, a wife who had a flagrant affair with an actor before conspiring in her husband’s assassination; and Fausta, a stepmother who tried to seduce her own stepson and then engineered his execution—afterward she was boiled to death as punishment.

If you spent time like I did during the '80's watching I CLAUDIUS with Derek Jacobi and Sian Philips, or the more recent HBO miniseries ROME (which should have lasted more than two seasons frankly) then you will want to run out and buy a copy of this book. Friesenbruch details the lives of a whole host of Scandalous Roman women, not only Messalina, but also Livia and Claudius' last wife Agrippina, mother of Nero, along with a host of other wives that have been lost to history until now. I found this book fascinating, dipping my toes into its pages, over the past several months, getting to know these women.  There's also even a little bit about Fulvia, one of Marc Antony's wives, who is an incredibly fascinating character. The author, Annelise Freisenbruch is a Latin teacher at a middle school in Dorset. Frankly if I had had this book when I was taking Latin in junior high and high school I might actually have enjoyed it more!  The book is much more than just a biography of these women, it is only a social history of what life was like for upper class Roman women during the years of the Republic and the Empire. I'm frankly surprised that no one had thought to write about these women before, but I'm very glad that Freisenbruch did.