Summer of the Sea Serpent, by Mary Pope Osborne

Clearly, I love to read.  Chances are, if you're reading this, you do too...or else you wouldn't be here, as I tend to get rather wordy.  The affinity that I feel for characters in books often surpasses that which I feel for people in reality.  I prefer to live in a fictional world with my "friends" than in reality about 90% of the time.  

A love for reading -be it for the same reasons as mine or not- is something that I hope to pass on to my kids.  A local library can take you places your bank account cannot.  Sure, it would always be better to travel to the Andes than to read about them, but we can't all afford that.  Yes, it's preferable to see the Louvre in person but, until you've saved up the thousands of dollars necessary to visit Paris, it ain't gonna happen.  Books give us a passport to the world - the one we actually inhabit, but also to the one of our imaginations.  And that is something that money can't buy.

Every once in a while, my kids will read a book that they later recommend to me.  So far, these suggestions have been easy reads, as Frick n Frack are still growing and developing as readers themselves.  But a book seeming "basic" is not grounds for dismissal.  Some of the greatest pieces of literature are the simplest ones.  More importantly, though, I always want to keep those lines of communication open with my kids, particularly when it comes to them sharing their lives, passions, and interests with me.  That is a gift.

Since they were wee sprouts, their grandma (my mom) has been reading the Magic Tree House series to my kids.  As they got older, they branched out further to read them independently.  It was one of these books that my son recommended that I read.  

An offshoot of the original Magic Tree House series, the Merlin Missions still feature the brother-sister main characters Jack and Annie.  Fans of Arthurian legend will appreciate the nods to Camelot with characters like Merlin and Morgan popping up here and there throughout the various series, all penned by Mary Pope Osborne.  Full of adventure, action, and riddles, young readers enjoy the ride alongside Jack, Annie, and their friends.  There is very little exposition, which allows the plot to move along at a quick clip.  For those of us used to reading classic literature, this is a welcome reprieve.  Adults can expect to read one of these books in maybe an hour(ish).  

While it may be easy to do so, I would caution against dismissing these books as easy.  At first glance, they certainly seem to be just that (remember the target audience!), but I would argue that they are quite thoughtfully crafted.  They introduce young readers to a broad array of highbrow literary themes, characters, history, and cultures.  To do so in a succinct way that appeals to children is nothing short of genius.  Hats off to Mary Pope Osborne for scratching the surface in ways that introduce kids to these concepts, inviting them to dive deeper into the topics that interest them.

When my son asked me to read Summer of the Sea Serpent after he had finished it, I was touched.  Not only was he asking me to share an experience with him, it gave us something to discuss, a topic that interested him.  I am honored that he wanted to share that with me and look forward to all future recommendations from my kids...even if they are not books that I would likely pick up on my own.

The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory

When I was finishing college, a movie based on a book came out starring The Hulk, Thor's girlfriend, and Black Widow in Tudor England.  I ask you, what about that statement is not extraordinary?

It's true, of these three Marvel wonders, only Hulk (2003) had actually come out by the time this film adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) was released.  But the book, which is what we're here to discuss today, was published in 2001, prior to any of these box office releases.

European history has always held a sort of fascination for me.  I remember learning of Henry VIII and the rhyme involving his six wives when I was in 7th grade social studies class: "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived".  Any asshole who straight up murders his family and changes a nation's history, religion, and politics to better suit his sex life is a narcissist who leaves a mark on your brain.  Anyway, I started this whole pointless anecdote with my being in college...I saw a friend of mine on campus one day reading this book, and I found that I was jealous.  With my areas of study (French, English, Art History), my reading time was swallowed up by required texts for an array of classes.  (Side note:  the French lit that was mandated was ALWAYS BORING AND WEIRD AF.)  By the time I'd finish one book and write a subsequent paper on it, it was time for another.  Reading for pleasure was a rare treat until a semester ended.

Fast forward about 16 years and here I am!  I finally read this book and, may I say, it would have been better if the Hulk had actually been in it.

Even this Hulk...

To be truthful, the book wasn't bad.  It sparked my curiosity about a number of things, so I found myself doing quite a bit of fact checking.  Of course, it is a work of fiction and claims to be nothing else, but it does leave me frustrated when historical fiction authors deviate a great deal from accepted truth about a time, place, or person.  (Example:  Mary Boleyn being banished from court for a clandestine marriage was true.  Contrary to the book, however, I believe she was disowned by her family and never allowed to return to court.  Also never mentioned in the novel:  Anne did eventually try to make some financial provisions for her sister.)  Although it was an engrossing diversion, it did make me feel sad and disgusted by the time, place, and just about every person.  

For instance...

Henry VIII - I don't feel like I need to say much about why this guy was awful.  Narcissistic, self-involved, and just straight up gross.  He thought he was sly in the way that children think that if they cover their eyes, they become invisible.  He couldn't keep his pants on and murdered people who didn't suit his baser desires.  Plus he liked hunting and bear-baiting, so clearly a sociopath.

Boleyn and Howard families - There is nothing wrong with being ambitious, so long as one's ambitions are in check with reality.  The Boleyn and Howard families (Howard being Mary and Anne's maternal family surname) thought nothing of sacrificing their daughters' well-being -and LIVES- for their own monetary and social gain.  You'd think they would have learned from the executions of Anne and George (two out of three of their CHILDREN!!!) that ambition in the Tudor court is a dangerous game, but they did not.  In fact, it was Catherine Howard (a relative of Anne's) who was the other "beheaded" of Henry's gruesome lineup of wives.  Seems that the Boleyns and Howards have a theme.  Were they apologetic?  It wouldn't appear so...

Mary Boleyn - It's easy to judge through a modern lens, but she just seems whiny and pathetic - at least in the book.  Still, if the novel is based on any measure of fact, her abuse and/or neglect began at a young age, and people do weird things when subjected to cruelty and childhood marriage.  The ultimate reality of Mary Boleyn's life is just that it was sad.

Anne Boleyn - According to the novel, she was a total bitch.  I wonder if any of this portrayal is accurate.  Maybe so.  History certainly considers her cunning and willing to angle, but I'm curious to what extent she abused her relationship with Mary in real life.  For example, quick research will reveal that Anne did not steal-adopt Mary's son from her (naughty), rather provided for his education as her ward (nice).  There's a difference.  I'm unable to tell if Anne ever used Mary's children as pawns in her schemes, but there doesn't seem to be any real evidence of that happening.

Catherine of Aragon - Good lord, what a sad situation.  Catherine of Aragon -Henry's first wife- appears to have done nothing to merit her treatment and ousting...beyond getting older, of course.  (For shame!!!)  The number of children she lost to miscarriage or stillbirth is heartbreaking, and certainly not her fault, but she appears to have borne the blame.  God knows what actually went on inside her head but, a devoutly religious person, to have been forced into a divorce would have upset her fervent Catholic beliefs.  Furthermore, to be denied access to her one living child (Princess Mary) is nothing short of cruel.  On top of that, Catherine was a lifelong royal.  Before becoming Queen of England, she was Princess of Spain (her parents being the Ferdinand and Isabella who funded Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage).  For her to be ousted was, more or less, a double blow.

Princess Mary - Oh, Bloody Mary.  Honestly, her fall from favor makes her later "bloodiness" almost understandable.  As Henry's first legitimate child, she was raised as a princess.  Although her parents were mostly absent from her upbringing (typical of the time), she would likely have enjoyed their affections from afar.  Well educated, provided for, and visited from time to time, she was a standard English princess.  Of course, once Anne Boleyn entered the picture, everything changed.  She was cast off, forced to wait on her -arguably illegitimate- stepmother (Anne) and half-sister (Elizabeth).  Not only would this blow to her pride and position have humiliated her, she was then denied visitation to her one remaining ally: her own mother.  Poor Mary was even forbidden to attend her mother's funeral.  So yeah, she went a little scorched earth during her own reign as Queen of England.  Should she have been so cruel to English non-Catholics?  Certainly not.  But perhaps it was one way she felt she could exert control, and a return to her mother's staunch morals and memory.

While the novel The Other Boleyn Girl certainly does highlight each of these characters and their individual stories, it does deviate somewhat from the truth.  Of course, as historical fiction, this is to be somewhat expected.  I do feel that it does well to embody the spirit of the time and characters mentioned, if not in a wholly accurate portrayal.  We can only speculate as to who these people were beneath the bravado, but the fall from grace experienced by each one is nothing less than tragic and unnecessary.

A final note:  It is so easy to miss the human nature of historical figures.  After all, they are typically reduced to dates, facts, and a few accomplishments or failures.  Even their portraits -that really don't resemble us today- appear cold, distant, and unrelatable.  Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Boleyn were both considered beauties in their time, but paintings of them leave us (me) questioning the beauty standards of the day.  Until I came upon this...

A present-day artist took the portraits of each of Henry VIII's wives and made modern re-creations of them using AI.  The results are stunning and, to me, made me reconsider not only the beauty of these six women, but their humanity.  Somehow, seeing Anne of Cleves with a full smile or Catherine of Aragon in a Nike sports bra makes them seem like people I might know.

Six Wives of Henry VIII: Modern Recreation

Guys, I have a problem: more (murder) mysteries in a 3-for-1 post

I said it in the title and I'll say it again:  Guys, I have a problem.  I can't stop reading murder mysteries set in Great Britain.

These novels are all so contrived.  Most often, I guess the ending (at least in some capacity) before arriving at it, but I just enjoy the ride.  The character development is, if not profound, kind of fun; I like a puzzle and I like suspense.  But why are they always British?  I like tea and rain, but their food sucks and the period piece social hierarchies annoy the hell out of me.  I spent the entirety of the latest Downton Abbey movie hoping that we'd see the 1929 stock market crash so that I could watch the entitled Crawleys struggle to work and live like the rest of us.  (What can I say?  As an American, I'm born and bred to be informal and egalitarian.  I HAVE NO 'BETTERS'.)  So why do I keep gravitating to this very specific genre?

Today, I figured it out.

I'm not unique in my love of mystery novels.  There's a reason the genre is so prolific: people love it.  I'm also not unique in my interest in history and proclivity for historical fiction.  This Brit Lit often combines the two: mystery and history.  But, above all, the British mysteries towards which I gravitate are not violent.  Yes, there is violence in them (they are murder mysteries, after all), but it is never so graphic as to be difficult or gratuitous.  None of the authors whose works I've been reading go into gory details.  To add, animals rarely (if ever?) get hurt, which is a feature that I cannot/do not abide.  These are books that are easy to get lost in.  They are suspenseful without being scary.  They are safe (for the reader...not for the characters!), fun, and lend a sense of excitement to an otherwise mundane or routine day/week/month/whatever.

This past year, I have read a lot of mystery novels that I have reviewed here.  And, shameful though it may be, I don't intend to stop.  It's not the worst vice I have.  So, without further ado, here are the three most recent titles I have enjoyed:

The Hummingbird Dagger, by Cindy Anstey

In 1833, a young woman is found unconscious after a carriage accident outside a small village.  When she awakens, she has no memory of who she is or how she arrived at Hardwick Manor with the Ellerby family, where she now finds herself.  As she recovers, she tries to piece together her mysterious past and how it pertains to some of the strange happenings she and her new friends observe about the village.

As a Young Adult novel (I don't judge), The Hummingbird Dagger keeps a steady pace.  The characters may be flat and predictable, but that is precisely what keeps things moving in books like these.  It doesn't drag or spend too much time pontificating on useless details.  Easy to read and hard to put down, I'd recommend it as a "hot dog" book.

Miss Morton and the Spirits of the Underworld, by Catherine Lloyd

Last summer, while on vacation, I read the book Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder by Catherine Lloyd.  This summer, I picked up the second book in this series (by one of my favorite hot dog writers!) and enjoyed the hell out of it.  Much like every other book of this genre, Miss Morton and the Spirits of the Underworld is full of smoke and mirrors...and tropes.

Miss Caroline Morton is a fallen-from-grace blue blood, because her father made some bad decisions before croaking.  The former Lady Caroline has transformed into plain ol' Miss Morton, companion to the rich-by-honest-means (read: made money because of working) Mrs. Frogerton.  Bonus: former Lady Caroline/Miss Morton is also able to advise Mrs. Frogerton's daughter Dorothy on the upper crust meat marriage market.  But don't worry, Miss Morton isn't old and washed up yet.  This ol' bird's still in her twenties and keepin' it tight.

When Mrs. Frogerton drags Miss Morton to a seance, they have a terrific -albeit weird- time.  It's basically the equivalent to today's haunted house scene, but less bloody and more ghosty.  Apparently, in Regency England, people were very easy to dupe because they didn't have internet.  But when the spiritualist, Madam Lavinia, turns up dead, things get weird and it's up to our protagonists to solve the case...much to the dismay of the real police.

Just like its predecessor, Spirits of the Underworld is a fun, easy ride.  At barely 300 pages, it's a relaxing read that doesn't demand much from the reader at all.  And great news to me (although probably not to Miss Morton), there is another murder mystery that will rock her world later this month when Miss Morton and the Deadly Inheritance hits shelves on August 20!

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library, by Hester Fox

This last one isn't quite a murder mystery.  In fact, there is no murder -mysterious or otherwise- to solve!  Set in England just after the first World War, young Ivy Radcliffe suddenly inherits Blackwood Abbey in the Yorkshire moors.  Apart from her best friend and roommate, Ivy is alone in the world after losing her entire family to war and illness.  She is struggling to make ends meet in London and, upon the death of a distant and unknown relative, she is now proprietor of a great estate up north.  But when Ivy arrives at Blackwood Abbey, things become worrisome: gaps begin to appear in her memory, strange things happen in town, and rumors run rampant.  The staff are cold and distant.  Even the abbey itself seems to be haunted, leaving Ivy with no one and nowhere to turn for relief.  It is only when Ivy discovers the abbey's secret and mysterious library that she begins to make a home for herself...but things are never as simple as they seem.

A slight deviation from the classic murder mystery genre, I lumped this one in because it embodies the same sort of mysterious spirit that draws me to these books.  Written by New England author Hester Fox, The Last Heir to Blackwood Library has a flavor to it that reminds me a great deal of Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier.  Both are Gothic novels featuring a young, naive heroine who must find her place in newfound status; both have dark undertones coming from the environs, atmosphere, staff, and the physical house itself that they are now tasked with running.  It's weird.  It's different.  I liked it.

I will try to branch out some more with a few non-mystery novels.  I have several other genres in my present line-up, many that I've already read and are just awaiting written reviews!  But I never make promises unless I know that I can keep them. ;)