Oh, I love a book sale!

I've been to a book sale! Used books, I must admit--no author royalties paid unfortunately--the only down-side to an otherwise sublime experience. What is better than three or four hours spent trawling among shelves and shelves of books? And if the money didn't go to the authors, at least it went to a good charity--our local symphony society.

I started the afternoon by finding a biography of George IV--our own Prinny--by Joanna Richardson. I had not come across this bio before; it is titled 'George the Magnificent' with a copyright of 1966. It should prove interesting in relation to the other biographies of the Prince Regent in my collection.

I moved on to discover a Penguin book--'The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier'. This is a memoir by a German conscript Jakob Walter, and looks very interesting. So little first person information is available about the common soldier of the era; it was satisfying find.

Then I found several nice little hardcovers of Jane Austen's work which will probably end up as prizes in my website contest. Likewise a good fresh used copy of the 1995 out of print book 'Landscapes of Britain'.

A real treat was a lovely hardcover titled 'Beningfield's English Villages'. Gordon Beningfield's luminous paintings are an inspiration and a joy.

"Great British Families' by Debrett's has some excellent illustrations, and with chapter titles like 'New Men' and 'Whig Magnates' promises good reading. 'Victorian and Edwardian London'  by A. R. Hope Moncrieff, although not Regency-related, looks packed with information. I paid $3 for it; I think that was a good deal! Nearly everything was only $1-$2, only a little more for extra special finds.

Loosely related to the Regency were my purchases of "Disraeli" by Stanley Weintraub; a massive tome of some 700 pages that looks terrific, and a 1953 edition of Washington Irving's 'The Sketch Book'. To round out my historical reading, I found--illustrative of the other periods of history that interest me--'A Medieval Family: The Pastons of 15th century England' by Frances and Joseph Gies and, 'In a Gilded Cage: From Heiress to Duchess' by Marian Fowler about the American heiresses who married British aristocrats in the late 19th century.

I've only recently discovered Canadian author Marian Fowler. I highly recommend her biographies, all written in the 1980's and 90's. I don't know if she is still writing, but her work is delightful--impeccably researched and sparkling prose. I just finished 'Below the Peacock Fan' about the ladies of the British Raj, and discovered that I have her biography of 'Blenheim'--yes, the house--on my shelves.

My purchasing was rounded off with a couple of novels by some favourite contemporary authors of mine, Erica James and Katie Fforde. I bought a book called "Cross-Stitch Florals" though I don't have time to undertake another project. If I do though, these ones are great! I got a book of Edward Thomas' poetry and discovered a series called the 'Small Oxford Books' which is delightful. I bought their 'Hotels and Inns', 'The Country House', and 'The Pleasures of the Table'. Each book is a compilation of quotes, from all eras of history, about the title topic. Great bed-time reading!

'The Faber Book of Epigrams and Epitaphs' from 1977 completed my purchases. This is a very funny book and does relate to the Regency or at least the Georgian era with this offering from Walter Savage Landor:

The Georges
George the First was always reckoned
Vile, but viler George the Second;
And what mortal ever heard
Any good of George the Third?
When from earth the Fourth descended
(God be praised!) the Georges ended.

It was a great day at the book sale. My purse is empty and my book shelves are full so it's fortunate that it comes only once a year. But I have reading material now until it comes around again. Oh, wait, there is the University Women's Book Sale in the autumn...hmmmmm.....

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

What Better Time for Reading...

What better time for reading than the middle of winter, when the snow piles high and the thermometer sinks low. I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and I thought I would share the books I am enjoying with you.

Mr. Langshaw's Square Piano: The Story of the First Pianos and How They Caused a Cultural Revolution 
by Madeline Goold
This book caught my eye in the library, I have to admit,  because of the lovely cover. The delightful Regency lady is from a painting titled "The Duet" by G. G. Kilburne, a Victorian painter. A closer examination of the book led me to bring it home, and I am enjoying it very much. Ms. Goold has a pleasant, vivid style of writing. She begins her story with her purchase of square piano #10651 (built in 1807) in a dilapidated state. She recounts its restoration and then traces its history, covering as she does so, the development of pianofortes in Britain and their effect on British society. Along the way, we meet Mr. Langshaw the piano's first owner, and John Broadwood, who founded a piano-building dynasty.

This book is an admirable social history, and I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the period. It has a lovely companion website, here

Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch
by Kate Williams
The first third or more of this book is about Princess Charlotte, her father the Prince Regent and her disreputable, often unpleasant uncles.Williams has a fiction writer's style, dramatic and rather sensational, which makes the oft-told story fresh and new. And the point of course is that if Princess Charlotte had not died, Victoria would not have become queen.

I learned much I did not know about Charlotte, the beleaguered princess, and her short life from the book. And I found my imagination stirred--what if she had lived? Victoria has always interested me as well, so it is no hardship to read all of the book, even for a Regency period devotee.

A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen
by Susannah Carson
This excellent book, offering many fascinating insights into our favourite author and her work, has been reviewed with great thoroughness and intelligence elsewhere. See Jane Austen's World Blog and Austenprose Blog for two excellent reviews. I need only say that I am enjoying it immensely and recommend it to any lover of Jane Austen.

In a slight digression from the Regency, I am also reading Claude and Camille by Stephanie Cowell. Her fictionalized retelling of the great romance of Claude Monet's life is very enjoyable. The great Impressionist painters come alive as they move through Monet's life. Their struggles for recognition wring the heart and Monet's difficult life makes his fabulous artistic output all the more astonishing. This is an enjoyable read--best done with a book of Monet's art at one's side.

To return to the Regency, I am looking forward to reading the wonderful Tracy Chevalier's latest book Remarkable Creatures. The author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, in this book takes on the life of Mary Anning. Mary as a little girl found the first complete dinosaur skeleton on a beach near Lyme Regis and spent her life hunting fossils (1799-1847). I will be interested to read Chevalier's interpretation of the Regency world.

All of these books are available at your favourite book store in North America, and hopefully, also for those of you outside NA. I hope you are enjoying some good books this winter--I'd love to hear about them.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne