2013's Most Anticipated New Releases

Marg: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley. I actually claimed this book as my most anticipated new release in 2013 back in July! I am just that excited at the prospect of reading it! And I was very excited when I got an early copy of it in the mail a couple of weeks ago. There was squeeeing and happy dancing involved. I am kind of glad you couldn't all see it!

Kelly: The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin. I wasn't sure what I was going to choose, but when I heard that Melanie Benjamin had a new book out in 2013 I decided it was a safe bet. I really enjoyed both of her previous books!

Julie: As I have to wait until the Autumn of 2013 before my most anticipated release is available, there is not even a cover I can show you. The book is the latest in the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon and is to be titled "Written In My Own Heart's Blood". 

So, as I have to wait almost a year I have a selected a second book, one that I know will be a great success, as indeed the rest of the books by this author are.

That book is Mrs Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini and is released in the UK in January 2013.

Ana: I have been very undecided about what to choose for this feature. There are several books that interest me but I ended up writing down Patricia Bracewell's Shadow on The Crown. It is set during a different period than what I usually read and I don't think I have ever payed much attention to Emma of Normandy so it might be both an interesting and informative read. Shadow on the Crown will be out on Feb 7, 2013.



Nanette: I'm with Ana in my anticipation of The Shadow on the Crown. I love books that are set in this era, and there are so few of them.

The others that have piqued my interest:

  

Fever by Mary Beth Keane, which is a novel about Typhoid Mary, the Irish immigrant who unknowingly started a typhoid epidemic in early 19th century New York City. I've been fascinated by Mary Mallon since fourth grade, when I read her story on one of the history cards that my teacher had in her classroom. As far as I know, this is the first novel about Mallon, and the author is highly acclaimed. Fever will be released in the U.S. on March 12.

The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig. I admit that I've fallen behind on Willig's Pink Carnation series, which is a shame, because it's a lot of fun. But this novel is a standalone, and it looks like a family saga--one of my favorite genres. I'll be looking for this one in April.

I know I've mentioned this before, but the book I'm most looking forward to in 2013 is Paullina Simons's Children of Liberty, which has been out in Australia since last fall, but isn't available in the U.S. until late February. I loved the Tatiana and Alexander series, and Children of Liberty gives the backstory of Alexander's ancestors.

Alex: This choice was quite difficult to make since several books already caught my attention, but Christine Trent's Lady of Ashes, a story about a Victorian undertaker, seems absolutely fascinating and unusual. Can't wait to read it !

The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick, a novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine, is also in my "most anticipated release" list for this year. Her books are always amazing !

What are your most anticipated new releases for this year?

Kailana's Best of 2011

I actually didn't read a lot of historical fiction and historical non-fiction this year compared to other years. What I did read, though, was wonderful! If I had to choose a favourite fiction and non-fiction, though, it would be:

Best Historical-Fiction Title:

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin. You can read my review of this book here.

Best Historical Non-Fiction:

Resistance: A Woman's Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France by Agnes Humbert. You can read my review of it here.

Spitfire Women of World War II by Giles Whittell. Yes, a tie, but you can read my review of this book here.

I thought I had reviewed both of those books here, but I apparently did not..

Other Notable Reads:
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Beauty Chorus by Kate Lord Brown
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

Alice, I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

Alice, I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

Completion Date: November 7, 2011
Reason for Reading: Fun!

Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole–and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling.

But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful?

Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.” Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.

That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.

For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.

A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire.

Earlier this year I read The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb and considered it one of my favourite reads of the year. I knew I was going to have to finally read her earlier book after having it out from the library a couple times since it was released. The truth of the matter is, I am not a big fan of Alice in Wonderland. I am not sure what it is, but I have just never enjoyed that book. I have always been more interested in Lewis Carroll as a person and the life of Alice Liddell. This book was written to explore the relationship between the two and the events that lead to the hugely successful book and its sequel. She obviously takes some liberties with the story, but it all works out well in the end.

The only thing that turned me off about this book was how pronounced the child molestation was in the book. It has always seemed so strange to me that young children were allowed to spend so much time with a grown man that wasn't even related to them. Obviously the truth of the matter is not known, but there are lots of theories about what might have happened. The scene where Alice and Mr. Dodgson stop talking in the book is imagined based on plausible ideas. It is imagined, though. Their really was a strong friendship between the Liddell girls and Dodgson, though. There are many pictures from those times and it is obvious that Alice had some favoured status based on her having a book about her and the nature about some of the pictures.

One of the ideas in this book I really appreciated was how when Alice was a little girl she wanted the story to be written down so she was always immortalized as the young girl of the tale. When she gets older, though, she starts feeling the pressure of being forever young. She gains a lot of attention later in life when she sells the original manuscript, but instead of the young girl that everyone has read about for years they are faced with an old woman just trying to survive during difficult financial times. Alice had a hard life in many respects. It is entirely possible that there is some truth to the tales of her relationship with her mother following the revelations of her relationship with Dodgson. If that is the case it must have been hard. Then, she falls in love and is denied that love because of her rocky past. This love will haunt her for the rest of her life until she comes to terms with the fact she did in fact love the man she ended up marrying. She also loses two of her sons during the war leaving only one surviving. That is never an easy hardship to endure and ultimately leads to her husbands decline and eventual death.

The book also captures the times well. The dresses, the parties, the outings, the method of speaking. It is all captured for the audiences enjoyment in Benjamin's wonderful book. Even if this was not a book based on notable characters, it would still be enjoyable because it is so well written. Alice lead a life both real and imagined that captures the hearts of anyone. I appreciate the importance of the ground-breaking novels even if I could never get myself to love them like others have. Benjamin has once again written a book I mostly enjoyed. She is a very talented author and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Recommended for those interested in Alice and Lewis Carroll, for those that enjoy books with a literary connection, or just for people that enjoy an interesting story written well and set in late 19th and early 20th century England.

Cross-posted at The Written World.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin

Completion Date: July 19, 2011

Reason for Reading: Received review copy from Random House Canada.

In her national bestseller Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin imagined the life of the woman who inspired Alice in Wonderland. Now, in this jubilant new novel, Benjamin shines a dazzling spotlight on another fascinating female figure whose story has never fully been told: a woman who became a nineteenth century icon and inspiration—and whose most daunting limitation became her greatest strength.

“Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead, I would define it.”

She was only two-foot eight-inches tall, but her legend reaches out to us more than a century later. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump was encouraged to live a life hidden away from the public. Instead, she reached out to the immortal impresario P. T. Barnum, married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, and transformed into the world’s most unexpected celebrity.

Here, in Vinnie’s singular and spirited voice, is her amazing adventure—from a showboat “freak” revue where she endured jeering mobs to her fateful meeting with the two men who would change her life: P. T. Barnum and Charles Stratton, AKA Tom Thumb. Their wedding would captivate the nation, preempt coverage of the Civil War, and usher them into the White House and the company of presidents and queens. But Vinnie’s fame would also endanger the person she prized most: her similarly-sized sister, Minnie, a gentle soul unable to escape the glare of Vinnie’s spotlight.

A barnstorming novel of the Gilded Age, and of a woman’s public triumphs and personal tragedies, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is the irresistible epic of a heroine who conquered the country with a heart as big as her dreams—and whose story will surely win over yours.

In a post stating new releases for the coming year, I saw mention of this book. It sounded different, so I knew I was going to have to give it a try. I had heard of Melanie Benjamin following the success of her debut novel, but this was my first time reading her. Can I just start with the gushing now? I loved this book! This is the story of Mercy Lavinia "Vinnie" Warren Bump, better known as the wife of General Tom Thumb, and her life and adventures. And what a life of adventures she had. Vinnie is a Little Person, but she never let her size hold her back. This book is amazing for what she accomplished in her life, but for the times it would have been equally as amazing if she was a woman of average height. She saw the world and did things that most women couldn't claim to have done.

I had no idea that Vinnie was a real person. I had never heard of her before, so I think Benjamin is doing her a great service by bringing attention to her once again. She loved the limelight and the attention, so I am sure even now she would be thrilled. In the notes at the back of the book, Benjamin points out that if Vinnie has been born nowadays, she would have been given growth hormone and likely been average height. Instead, she rose to fame by being a perfectly formed Little Person. She also a sister, Minnie, born with the same problem. When Vinnie married Tom Thumb (Charles Stratton), she was working for P.T. Barnum and he had a grand idea of her sister joining the show and four Little People traveling the world together. Minnie was not like her sister, but she grew up fast in this hectic lifestyle and would eventually die in childbirth.

Vinnie was a fascinating character. She was determined that her size would not define her -despite the fact she got her jobs because of her size in the first place. She thought her talent was important, too, so while the men that she worked for saw her size, she saw a crowd of people there to see her and a chance for her to shine. Her first employer was a terrible experience, but despite ups and downs she had a wonderful chance at a career with Barnum's crazy ideas. If she had never joined his show, Benjamin would probably not have even knew of her to write a book about her. He made her famous and the acquaintance of anyone that was anyone in the world she inhabited.

My enjoyment of this book is because I found Vinnie's life so interesting, but it is also because Benjamin captures everything so well. She obviously had to imagine in the details, but she did it in such a way that it seemed believable. You really could see Vinnie at the end of her life recording all that had happened to her. The world in which she inhabits really comes alive, too. Benjamin really did her research on the times and places that Vinnie encountered, but she also includes newspaper clippings to set the stage for what was happening in the larger world during these times. I thought that was a nice touch.

Overall an excellent book that will be finding a place on my best of list at the end of the year.

Thanks very much to Random House Canada for sending me this wonderful book! It counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

This review was cross-posted at The Written World.