Book Description
An acclaimed novelist's riveting memoir about what it means to be adopted and how all of us construct our sense of self and family
Before A.M. Homes was born, she was put up for adoption. Her birth mother was a twenty-two- year-old single woman who was having an affair with a much older married man with children of his own. The Mistress's Daughter is the story of what happened when, thirty years later, her birth parents came looking for her.
Homes, renowned for the psychological accuracy and emotional intensity of her storytelling, tells how her birth parents initially made contact with her and what happened afterward (her mother stalked her and appeared unannounced at a reading) and what she was able to reconstruct about the story of their lives and their families. Her birth mother, a complex and lonely woman, never married or had another child, and died of kidney failure in 1998; her birth father, who initially made overtures about inviting her into his family, never did.
Then the story jumps forward several years to when Homes opens the boxes of her mother's memorabilia. She had hoped to find her mother in those boxes, to know her secrets, but no relief came. She became increasingly obsessed with finding out as much as she could about all four parents and their families, hiring researchers and spending hours poring through newspaper morgues, municipal archives and genealogical Web sites. This brave, daring, and funny book is a story about what it means to be adopted, but it is also about identity and how all of us define our sense of self and family.
Customer Reviews:
an interesting read.......2007-10-06
This book is the interesting story of one woman's adoptee search, told as engagingly as any good novel. I have no doubt that it would make a great movie. This is not a fairy tale reunion story, but it is reality, and many lessons are learned along the way.
A Loss to Know.......2007-09-16
I'm an avid A.M. Homes' reader. People who really know me, know this. I've read nearly every book she's written, (my favorites are "Music for Torching" and "The Safety of Objects"), and love her style. It's what I'd call, "Suburban Surrealism." Truly the non-logical, wacky mysteries of everyday life.
As always, this book has A.M. Homes' very detailed and visual style (something I truly appreciate in writers), and it unveils an often hidden aspect of life: adoption. Not much is written on adoption, and it's about time. It reveals a lot of the longings that adoption can bring out in people. And, she's very honest -- about all her feelings -- which is brave and intense and interesting.
I was totally wrapped up in the book until the middle when the book moves from very real relationships with her mothers and fathers to an almost imaginary but true emotional probing of their ancestors' origins -- not lives, per se, but origins. Where they were from. Who they married. And, yet, the plot itself is about wanting. Emotional life, not facts. I guess I wanted more external plot and dialogue rather than musing and searching without real connection between people. I felt lonely reading this book.
Granted, we readers understand from the story why it's hard for A.M. Homes to relate to her bio parents because they are caught up in their own narcissistic fantasies of who she is in relation to them. And, A.M. Homes does a wonderful job in illustrating this, and of also describing their idiosyncrasies and her hit and run, hit and run, hit and run experiences with them.
I also know what it's like to have overly-inquisitive parents, so I can sympathize with her wish to shut down and close off. But, we never know how much time we have with people.
A.M. Homes holds her bio parents so much at bay that they are pulled to plead with her for information about herself, to want from her. I felt the same way with her.
I met A.M. Homes briefly when she came for a book reading and signing for The Mistress' Daughter. And, the one thing I took away from the reading was how private she was. I felt compelled to tease out facts from her and asked about the truth of her last name, (considering she often writes about homes and families). When she revealed, hesitantly, "Yes, that really is my last name," I felt I'd won. Wow! I got her to reveal something. And, I was really struck at the time by the fact that I'd felt this pull to know more about her even though I'd attended a book reading about her autobiography.
This book is a fascinating entry into the world of adoption and a reminder that the fantasy of who we wanted our parents to be does not exist, and we have to give it up in order to move on and to grow up.
That said, I wanted to experience a plot in which A.M. Homes makes it through to the other side of acceptance, that who she wanted was not who she had, and that who she had was better than imagined. I wanted to experience the real relationships more than the fantasied ones.
Driven To Understand.......2007-09-06
A strong memoir progresses from "I thought this" to "Then I thought this," and eventually to "Now I think this." A strong writer will invite the reader to challenge her conclusions. A.M. Homes' THE MISTRESS'S DAUGHTER is a strong memoir.
Early on, Homes imagines her birth mother the way I've heard adoptees imagine their birth mothers, or, at least, the better life they know they would have had if they lived with them: "In my dreams, my birth mother is a goddess, the queen of queens, the CEO, the CFO, and the COO. Movie-star beautiful, incredibly competent, she can take care of anyone and anything. She has made a fabulous life for herself, as ruler of the world, except for one missing link... me."
But she learns her birth mother is far from a goddess; she's mentally ill. This is part of a phone conversation in which Homes is scolded for not sending her birth mother a Valentine's Day card:
"I'm not really sure why you're so angry with me." [Homes says to her birth mother]
"You don't take good care of me. You should adopt me and take good care of me," she says.
"I can't adopt you," I say.
"Why not?"
Then, through her interactions with her birth father and what she finds out during her genealogical research, she begins to understand why her birth mother was the way she was: "My mother had no life after she gave me up--she never married, never had another family. She invested in him [Home's birth father] from a very early age, he used her and then said good-bye. She never recovered."
Homes convincingly shows her parents' and birth parents' character (as she sees it) through dialogue, meanings often open to interpretation, depending on the information available to the listener.
I'll admit sometimes Homes bogs the book down with her play-by-play accounts of researching her parents' backgrounds, yet I take the stance that this reflects how possessed--and bogged down--she was by her need to decipher fact from fantasy, to put to rest the mother she had imagined. This drive to understand is not limited to her--an adopted child looking for answers. It grabs hold of most strong authors and their readers.
Dies halfway........2007-09-04
This book starts out moderately well. It was drawing me in and Homes did start to drop from time to time the crazy assertions which can enliven her fiction such as her assumptions about her fathers intentions towards her.
I really thought it was picking up and turning into a very good read. Then she wades into a swamp of genealogical research which is dull (even to her I suspect). Research into the history of the people who raised her , the people who adopted her, will not brighten her day and it certainly set me yawning.,
The book finishes on a very poor note indeed. She criticises her real father for his reticence and lack of cooperation . At the same time she tells hardly anything about her adoptive father, her partner (is there one?) and the child she felt she had to have.She wants her privacy but wants to invade the privacy of others.
An Adoptee's Perspective.......2007-08-31
I read "The Mistress's Daughter" as a part of a law school course on adoption. Much to my delight, the book was not merely a dry summary of adoptee reunion statistics and current case law, but rather an intriguing personal story of one woman's reaction to unexpectedly meeting her birthparents at the age of 30. The book details her thoughts and feelings as she experienced the emotionally charged experience of meeting biological relatives for the first time, and follows her experiences as the relationships develop and eventually terminate. One caveat, however: the book is one woman's individual experience and cannot be assumed to be the "normal" adoptee/birthparent reunion story. I, too, met my birthfather in 1999. My experience has been vastly different than the author's. Each reunion story is different.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent!!!
- Scandalous!
- Life in the court of Henry the VIII....not all it is cracked up to be
- couldn't put it down
- Historical fiction with a new twist
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The Other Boleyn Girl
Philippa Gregory
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Katherine
ASIN: 0743227441 |
Book Description
Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king
When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her familys ambitious plots as the kings interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.
A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.
Download Description
"Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands. A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart. "
Customer Reviews:
Excellent!!!.......2007-10-10
This book was fantastic! I've never had an interest in English history before and now I find I'm obsessed. Well written and engaging. It's hard to put down!
Scandalous!.......2007-10-09
I admit, at first I thought this book was a bit of fluff. I realized it wasn't when I found myself unable to leave the story to so much as eat. Don't give up if you've just begun, this book will take you on a ride of intrigue, scandal, ambition, lust, incest and greed. The writing seemed very simple to me, but the story was complex enough to fill in the gap. I loved reading about the Tudors and although I knew it wasn't entirely true, the story was entertaining & shocking enough to keep me reading until the last word.
This story is told from Mary Boleyn's point of view and and tells the tale of the Boleyn family's ambition to get the to the top of the English crown, no matter what the cost...and oh what prices they pay! Mary was chosen by her family to put herself in the king's (Henry VIII) favor (mainly with sex) to rise to the top to benefit her family. Everything seemed to be going well for Mary until her highly ambitious and beautiful sister Anne came to court and stole all of her thunder and did whatever it took her to get what she wanted, and more. In the king's quest for an heir, a son, he leads the country to the height of scandal by divorcing Queen Katherine, who is barren, to open the door for a new marriage...perhaps to a Boleyn.
It's interesting to see the dynamic between Anne, Mary and their brother, George. Rivals from the crib, Anne and Mary were born to be in competition with eachother and were raised for the sole purpose of landing an advantagous marriage. Anne will stop at nothing to land a sucessful marriage to a duke and once that prospect is squashed she goes straight for the heart of the country...the king. She is a shameless, uncaring, evil, ambitious woman, but something about her makes you root for her, in a sick way. For years and years she stops at nothing to get what she wants, but the road she takes to get there is wrought with scandal that puts Anne and her family of unwilling supporters in grave danger.
If you want an engaging read, this is it. How many times did I say the word scandalous in this review? A bunch? That's because it is! Read it, you won't regret it. Also, I think thay are making a movie that is to come out this winter. It's a great time to take in the book.
Life in the court of Henry the VIII....not all it is cracked up to be.......2007-10-08
This is an amazing historical fiction about Mary, the sister of Anne Boleyn. The historical details make you feel as if you are really there. It seems to be very historically accurate as well. I mostly enjoyed reading it... except that after a while the politically charged, cruel, and sometimes evil feel of the life at Henry the VIII's court can be smothering. Towards the end I just wanted to be done with it.
couldn't put it down.......2007-10-07
this was a great book. I did not like the Constant Princess, so I hesitated to read this book. Great story, great writing. Really couldn't put it down.
Historical fiction with a new twist.......2007-10-01
This book kept me riveted even though it is a long book; I didn't want to stop reading it. It certainly made the reign of King Henry VIII interesting! It also points out the sad fate of women in those days. But the main character, Mary Bolyn overcomes her fate by following her heart. This has been my favorite book this year, full of love, sex and ambition., and it is based on a true story!
Book Description
A chilling, mesmerizing novel that combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the detail and drama of historical fiction.
In medieval Cambridge, England, four children have been murdered. The crimes are immediately blamed on the town's Jewish community, taken as evidence that Jews sacrifice Christian children in blasphemous ceremonies. To save them from the rioting mob, the king places the Cambridge Jews under his protection and hides them in a castle fortress. King Henry I is no friend of the Jews-or anyone, really-but he is invested in their fate. Without the taxes received from Jewish merchants, his treasuries would go bankrupt. Hoping scientific investigation will exonerate the Jews, Henry calls on his cousin the King of Sicily-whose subjects include the best medical experts in Europe-and asks for his finest "master of the art of death," an early version of the medical examiner. The Italian doctor chosen for the task is a young prodigy from the University of Salerno. But her name is Adelia-the king has been sent a mistress of the art of death.
Adelia and her companions-Simon, a Jew, and Mansur, a Moor-travel to England to unravel the mystery of the Cambridge murders, which turn out to be the work of a serial killer, most likely one who has been on Crusade with the king. In a backward and superstitious country like England, Adelia must conceal her true identity as a doctor in order to avoid accusations of witchcraft. Along the way, she is assisted by Sir Rowley Picot, one of the king's tax collectors, a man with a personal stake in the investigation. Rowley may be a needed friend, or the fiend for whom they are searching. As Adelia's investigation takes her into Cambridge's shadowy river paths and behind the closed doors of its churches and nunneries, the hunt intensifies and the killer prepares to strike again . .
Customer Reviews:
An excellent beginning to a new series.......2007-10-09
First Sentence: Here they come.
A child has been murdered and residents in Cambridge claim he was crucified by the Jews. The Jews provide Henry II with a large part of his revenue and requires that the real killer be quickly found. From Naples come Simon of Naples, an renowned investigator, Mansur the Saracen, and a woman doctor trained in the study of corpses at the School of Medicine in Salerno, Adelia Aguilar. The bodies of other children are found, and Adelia is determined to find their killer.
I am about to gush! This book was judged the best researched of its year by the BBC and historian Dr. David Starkey. Happily, it is not written in Middle English and, as the author admits, some liberties were taken. Others more versed in this time than am I, may be able to find historic fault with it. I don't care. I found the history fascinating and learned even more about life in this period. The style of writing was wonderful; from that first three-word sentence, I was entranced. I loved the characters; Adelia, Simon, Mansur, Ulf, Gyltha, Prior Geoffrey, Henry II (whose voice I shall always hear as Peter O'Toole's) were real to me and others became so as the story progressed. The language was a bit challenging at first, but soon became easy to read. The sights, sounds and smells of the town were described to place me within the story. The story kept me involved from beginning to end and tapped all my emotions. There is a wonderful romance which arises to warm the heart and quicken the pulse. I laughed, cried; was moved, frightened and appalled and I can't wait until the next book comes out next May. What can I say; I loved it.
Yes, it's good forensics, but..........2007-10-02
Doesn't anyone know history any more? Spanish Jews with sidelocks speaking Yiddish (not Arabic)? Um, the Hasidim lived in Poland, and I don't think they were styling their hair that way or even a religious movement quite as early as the 1100s...
A sign posted on the convent door listing the local motels? Who could read besides the occasional priest? And not *all* priests could read, either, or knew more Latin than what was in the Eucharistic ceremony (many of them just garbled the liturgy). Thatcher's children actually attending school?
Every anachronism made me flinch, and I have twitched a lot while reading this book. I usually give up on such books after a couple of chapters (like "Da Vinci Code" --awful book), but the CSI aspects are keeping me going. I'm at page 145, but I might give up yet.
For a writer who is supposed to be so experienced (and published), she could have taken more care to be more accurate.
Unique.......2007-10-01
Great plot and interesting characters. Very different and great period in history.
Highly recommended
An Unlikely Page-Turner .......2007-09-28
Start with Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." Throw in a cameo of a calculating and brash King Henry II straight from "The Lion in Winter." Add some medieval mystery on par with Umberto Eco's groundbreaking "The Name of the Rose". And finish it off with the forensics of "CSI", and you'll have some appreciation for Ariana Franklin's remarkable achievement in "Mistress of the Art of Death", a fresh and inspired twist of historical fiction and crime thriller, a blockbuster of murder and mayhem told through lively, darkly humorous prose that is as educational as it is entertaining.
The setting is 12th century England. King Henry II, still smarting from the Church's reaction to the murder of archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, is anxious to get to the bottom of the grisly murders of four children in Cambridge. The Cambridge townspeople, steeped in superstition and New Testament legend, blame the murders on the local Jewish population, who are banished to Cambridge Castle for protection against a mob bent on retribution. The wily Henry, coming to the Jews defense not from love but for the sake of continued tax revenue from his affluent moneylenders, reaches out for help from his cousin, the King of Sicily, and Italy's renowned medical school in Salerno. In response to this request, Adelia, a talented young female doctor in "the art of death" - essentially the forensics of the time - is sent to assist. In a time when women barely rate above stable animals and medical treatment is limited by an overwhelmingly powerful to relics and prayer, Adelia faces not only the formidable task of tracking down a serial killer who is obviously still on the loose, but also overcoming ignorance and prejudice in cracking a case of unthinkable evil. Notwithstanding some anachronisms - some noted and others ignored - Franklin delivers her tale with the historical authority of Edward Rutherford or Bernard Cornwell, while told in dialogue as engaging as Grisham, Forsythe, or Follett at the tops of their games. I found myself glued to the top notch "whodunit", while at the same time captivated by the vivid period detail and political intrigue of the time.
If this is not the best new fiction of 2007, it is certainly among the most original as it takes more than a few unsuspected twists in getting to a climax that is as insightful, ironic, and intelligent as it is white-knuckled. Well done, Ms. Franklin!
CSI: Medieval.......2007-09-26
All the way through this book, I felt like I was watching an extended episode of CSI set in miedieval England. Just like the shows, the book wasn't realistic and some of the characters and clues were contrived.
Still, there were some definite good points. The mystery didn't get buried in the romantic sub-plot. King Henry was a fantasticly portrayed character. And if you're just looking for some good escapist reading where you don't already know the who the bad guy is by the second chapter, this is a great choice.
Book Description
Born into poverty and raised in a brothel, Nell Gwynne sells oranges in the pit at London’s King’s Theater, newly reopened after the plague and the Great Fire devastated the city. Soon, her quick sense of humor and natural charm get her noticed by those who have the means to make her life easier. But the street-smart Nell knows a woman doesn’t get ahead by selling her body. Through talent, charm, intelligence, and sheer determination—as well as a keen understanding of how the world operates—Nell works her way out of the pit and onto the stage to become the leading comedic actress of the day. Her skills and beauty quickly win the attention of all of London—eventually even catching the eye of King Charles II. Their attraction is as real as it is unlikely, and the scrappy orange girl with the pretty face and the quick wit soon finds herself plunged into the confusing and dangerous world of the court, where she learns there are few she can trust—and many whom she cannot turn her back on.
From the gritty streets of seventeenth-century London, to the backstage glamour of its theaters, to the glittering court of Charles II,
The Perfect Royal Mistress is a love story for the ages, the rags-to-riches tale of a truly remarkable heroine.
Customer Reviews:
Easy Breezy Read, 3.5 stars.......2007-09-06
This is the rags to riches story of Nell Gwynne, a one time orange girl and then actress of The King's Theatre who captured the heart of Charles II, The Merry Monarch. Since two other reviewers have done such a fine job of recapping the story, I needn't rehash it again.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the story, I felt the characters could have been better defined. Maybe it's because I've read Forever Amber and Dark Angels and I kept wishing for more like that. The author did a nice job of defining the Reformation society and the court, but it just wasn't enough for me. Buckingham's intrigues came off as too lighthearted, Queen Catherine a non-existent sap, and Louise a whiny immature child. I could never figure out how Lord Bockhurst started out as a worthless hellion that Nell dumped to being one of her greatest friends and supporters, along with Buckingham. Like another reviewer, I found the "h" dropping didn't quite do the dialect justice and I found at least one instance where Nell "forgot" to drop the "h".
All in all an enjoyable entertaining read, just not something to write home and friends about, one of those books that will go right back to the library and probably soon forgotten. 3.5 stars.
Perfect Royal Read.......2007-08-05
I read THE RUBY RING when it came out and wasn't that impressed with the depth of the characters or even the plot of Hager's first novel. However, I thought I'd give her books another try and I'm really glad I did. The Perfect Royal Mistress is a huge step above her previous work, and the story of King Charles II and his mistress Nell reads like some of the best historical fiction around. The pair of them drive this tale of jealousy, love and politics, and anyone who's a fan of English history will enjoy this romp through Charles's life, complete with affairs, mistresses, and illegitimate children!
THE PERFECT ROYAL MISTRESS.......2007-07-17
I had heard of Nell Gwynne in reading history, but I knew little about her except that she was an actress who became a King's mistress. This book really brought her to life. I couldn't put it down. The author Diane Haegar really brought Nell and the other people who surrounded her to life. I love historical novels, historical romances and anything that is historical. I shall continue to read other books by Diane Haegar, and I recommand this book to anyone who enjoys historical novels as much as I do.
Passion from England.......2007-06-28
This book brought front and center the traggic existance of a woman loving a king. This woman showed spirit and a true appreciation for her position. This novel very closely followed historical notes on the romance between Nell Gwynne and the king of England. It was a pleasure to read, written by a great author.
Love it!.......2007-06-28
This was my first Diane Haeger novel and I must say I can't wait to read more from her. I thought it was wonderfully written and an intriguing look into a woman's life in England in a time where nothing was certain.
Average customer rating:
- Mistress of Scandal
- Mistress of No-No
- Mistress of Scandal
- If you like to roll your eyes over and over... (D- Grade)
- Lacked the Zip and Wit ...
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Mistress of Scandal
Sara Bennett
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Her Only Desire: A Novel
ASIN: 0060796499
Release Date: 2007-03-27 |
Book Description
Proper, reserved Francesca detests chaotic London and one of its most infamous inhabitants: her birth mother, the notorious courtesan Madame Aphrodite. Lovingly raised by the devoted Lady Greentree, she's content to remain in Yorkshire, far from the scandalous parent whose life and profession shock . . . yet intrigue her. But a dark, dangerous stranger she rescues on the moors is awakening a most improper desire—causing Francesca to question whether she is more her mother's daughter than she ever wished to be.
When Sebastian Thorne agrees to protect Aphrodite's estranged daughter from a dire threat emerging from her past, the fallen lord is unexpectedly seduced by Francesca's beauty. But a vigilante living on the shadowy edge of society has little hope to own such a prize—and unless he reclaims his abandoned title and lost honor, Sebastian will never get close enough to the bewitching lady to save her life . . . or win her passion.
Customer Reviews:
Mistress of Scandal.......2007-08-13
Francesca Greentree had enjoyed her quiet life and content to live the rest of her days on the moors of Yorkshire. She detests the loud and chaotic life of London and is determined to stay away from one of its most famous inhabitants, her birth mother, the notorious courtesan Madame Aphrodite. Francesca's most dreaded fear is that one day her most base desires will surface and she will become like her mother, which is something that Francesca is determined will never happen. Until the day she meets Sebastian Thorne, and now her life will never be the same.
Accepting an assignment by Madame Aphrodite, Sebastian Thorne sets out for Yorkshire, where he is to meet with someone to gather information. And hopefully find the person who kidnapped Aphrodite's daughters twenty-four years ago. The meeting place was to be along the moors, but his guide has tricked him and now he is sinking, slowly into the mired muck. Only a miracle will save him.
Sebastian's miracle comes in the form of Francesca Greentree, the daughter of Aphrodite herself. Pulling Sebastian from the moors, Francesca discovers that she is her mother's daughter after all when he stirs feelings in her that she had long suppressed. What does he want? Why is he out on the moors to begin with?
Mistress of Scandal is the third book in the eagerly awaited Greentree Sisters trilogy. Sara Bennett brings her readers a story of love found in the most unexpected place and a twenty-four year old mystery that will keep readers turning the pages from beginning to end. Sara Bennett is one of today's most gifted romance writers. She writes with passion and truly gets into the `heads' of her characters making them come to life for all of us to enjoy. Beautifully written and characters to fall in love with, Ms. Bennett delivers on all counts.
Debbie reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
Mistress of No-No.......2007-05-13
I will not give a summary, because most of these reviews do that. This novel was so extremely ho-hum. I didn't feel any chemistry or passion between the leads, I felt like there was just sex (and that wasn't very hot). It was also kind of hard to understand Aphrodite hiring someone to solve a crime when she was already positive of who the criminal was. Not to mention her refusing to disclose any information, how odd.
Mistress of Scandal.......2007-05-09
I just finished reading this book and I'm inclined to disagree with the first two reviewers. I really did enjoy the story. Sure, I guessed who the mastermind behind the Greentree sister's kidnapping was right from the first book, but it was quite nice having all the pieces finally drawn together and answer all the why's and also, finally allowing closure for all three sisters and their "two" mothers.
Of course, it had a happy ending with the youngest of the sisters finally letting go of all her insecurities and allowing herself to accept love and being loved without being afraid of losing her heart to her hero Sebastian.
If you like to roll your eyes over and over... (D- Grade).......2007-04-21
The third and final book in this trilogy of sisters who were kidnapped as babies from their courtesan mother is such a disappointment. And this is coming from an author who has years of experience writing enjoyable historical romances. When you have constant eye rolling by the third chapter and throughout the book you know this was written on auto pilot.
The premise looks to be interesting as mother "Madame Aphrodite" pays our hero Sebastian to try and find the evil ones responsible for stealing her children years before. Sebastian is your typical angst filled man who lives on the dark side for some wrong he has done in the past. The horror! The total cliché!
Sebastian happily takes on the case and in the process almost dies by being left to drown in some bog. (They actually have marshy bogs in England that will kill you!) He is found and saved by the youngest daughter Francesca as she walks with her dog through the moors even though she is suppose to be some respectful young woman. What a coincidence this makes. Sebastian is over come by lust the minute he sees her! And Francesca, even though she doesn't want to act out any traits of her trashy mother, tries not to think these lust filled thoughts.
Even though by page 100 she and Sebastian have fallen in bed together.
Zany turmoil and constant villains surround these two over and over. And along the way they are overcome with passion and ecstasy while always in danger.
If only there were not clichés' and over the top actions by the villains and the two main characters, then maybe this book could have been redeemable. For a good chuckle, and not in good way perhaps this book is for you. Otherwise check out Bennett's earlier works for more substance and no eye rolling.
Katiebabs
Rules of Passion
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Lacked the Zip and Wit ..........2007-04-20
...of the first two books in the series. It felt in "Mistress of Scandal" that Sara Bennett was forcing chemistry, forcing tension, and forcing the narrative along. While the book was not completely lacking, it really was a hohum text that offers no real wit or sparks. A blah book all around.
Average customer rating:
- A Sci-Fi that has it all, though a bit too much talk-talk
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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Robert A. Heinlein
Manufacturer: Orb Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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General | Heinlein, Robert A. | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Paperback | Heinlein, Robert A. | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312863551 |
Amazon.com
Tom Clancy has said of Robert A. Heinlein, "We proceed down the path marked by his ideas. He shows us where the future is." Nowhere is this more true than in Heinlein's gripping tale of revolution on the moon in 2076, where "Loonies" are kept poor and oppressed by an Earth-based Authority that turns huge profits at their expense. A small band of dissidents, including a one-armed computer jock, a radical young woman, a past-his-prime academic and a nearly omnipotent computer named Mike, ignite the fires of revolution despite the near certainty of failure and death.
Book Description
Robert A. Heinlein was the most influential science fiction writer of his era, an influence so large that, as Samuel R. Delany notes, "modern critics attempting to wrestle with that influence find themselves dealing with an object rather like the sky or an ocean." He won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, a record that still stands. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was the last of these Hugo-winning novels, and it is widely considered his finest work.It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people--a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic--who become the rebel movement's leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the high points of modern science fiction, a novel bursting with politics, humanity, passion, innovative technical speculation, and a firm belief in the pursuit of human freedom.
Customer Reviews:
A Sci-Fi that has it all, though a bit too much talk-talk.......2007-08-14
Warning - Spoiler ahead: I read this on recommendation of the National Review, who were celebrating Robert Heinlein's 100th birthday and his importance as a libertarian and patriot. Perhaps people of all political stripes will find something to like here, and this novel dives into political issues every bit as much as it does scientific and personal aspects of the story. "The Moon" is about a revolt by 3 million Moon dwellers, most former prisoners, against their commanders on or from Earth. It begins in the year 2075 and is divided into three books: Book One introduces the story and themes and setting for the revolution, Book Two contains extensive meetings and negotiation between the Moon (Luna) and the Earth (Terra), and Book Three has the dramatic, climactic conflict...this is where most of the action is, and it includes some physical theory that helps to keep it real. For example, Heinlein understands how attacks from Terra are greatly inhibited by earth's huge gravity, making a missile-laden ship more cost-effective than firing large missiles directly from Terra. The Loonies, on the other hand, have the advantage of raining destruction on Terra simply by overcoming Luna's weak gravity, and letting the bomb fall to its target. After all, Heinlein wasn't a fantasy writer; he used realistic situations to illustrate universal principles, just on a different plane - or planet!
IMHO Book Two goes a little overboard with plotting and dialogue about Luna's path for achieving revolutionary independence, and things drag in places. Much of this is between the main character and narrator, Mannie, and the "Professor," the revolutionary mastermind. The Professor is less scrupulous, always planning how to manipulate not just the Terran authorities, but also the "Loonies." I kept picturing the professor as Lenin, in spite of Heinlein's goals for a free, libertarian society. Mannie is also a fighter but he's more sympathetic, sort of an `everyman', and his triumphant survival is sweet but not too sentimental. One other criticism would be the stylistic jargon that Heinlein invents for Loonie society, words like the salutation Gospodin meaning Mr., or Choom meaning chum, and his unintelligible description of polygamous marriages (necessary with the skewed ratio of men to women). At times it gets just a little too thick and by the end I was relieved by the action that tied it all together. This was written in the mid-60's and I think Heinlein wanted to sound cool to get his message across, but it's a little anachronistic now. Regardless, the ending is a great payoff and justifies rating this as his most important work, even if like me you're not a big sci-fi reader.
Heinlein's single most important work.......2007-08-09
This book is clearly the single most important work of Heinlein's life.
A text of Revolution, Liberty, survival & the limits & inherit flaws of the institutions of government.
A fine science fiction novel, & a subtle condemnation of both "big government" & "caveman conservatism" alike.
A personal note--few novels get into my subconscious so deeply that I dream of them. This one did.
Is good book, scan?.......2007-08-07
Have been reading SF for 20 years, seen this one many times, some cobber recommened, no dice. Hear is dinkum, but not sure.
As new chum must say that book is fair, though may risk elimination to ctitique.
Typical Heinlein, what with phraseology. No big huhu.
Revolution How-To.......2007-08-07
At the suggestion of a colleague I placed this book on my summer reading list. Perusing the internet I found that it would be of greater interest to first pickup Heinlein's other masterpiece, Stranger in a Strange Land. Between the two I am now beginning to consider myself a Heinlein fan. The man's work is simply stellar compared to others in the genre.
This novel, although using character dialog which deemphasizes Heinlein's grammatical excellence, entails the idea of revolutionary tactics from the perspective of penal colony on the Moon. A great read for those who also have an affinity for historical references, as it plans out the requirements to strategically plan a revolution based off of many known occurances as well as some completely fictional.
2 Thumbs Up.......2007-06-22
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the best books that I have ever read. Robert Heinlein is an exceptional author with a well earned reputation as one of the sci-fi masters. I have read several of his works, but this is his best book by far. He spins a yarn about the "Loonies" - the moon people, their rebellion, and their struggles. He puts in a lot of dry humor throughout the book concerning a one armed man, a woman, a professor made politician, and a giant, joking computer. I highly recommend this book
Book Description
It was 1733 when the poet and philosopher Voltaire met Emilie du Châtelet, a beguiling—and married—aristocrat who would one day popularize Newton’s arcane ideas and pave the way for Einstein’s theories. In an era when women were rarely permitted any serious schooling, this twenty-seven-year-old’s nimble conversation and unusual brilliance led Voltaire, then in his late thirties, to wonder, “Why did you only reach me so late?” They fell immediately and passionately in love.
Through the prism of their tumultuous fifteen-year relationship we see the crumbling of an ancient social order and the birth of the Enlightenment. Together the two lovers rebuilt a dilapidated and isolated rural chateau at Cirey where they conducted scientific experiments, entertained many of the leading thinkers of the burgeoning scientific revolution, and developed radical ideas about the monarchy, the nature of free will, the subordination of women, and the separation of church and state.
But their time together was filled with far more than reading and intellectual conversation. There were frantic gallopings across France, sword fights in front of besieged German fortresses, and a deadly burning of Voltaire’s books by the public executioner at the base of the grand stairwell of the Palais de Justice in Paris. The pair survived court intrigues at Versailles, narrow escapes from agents of the king, a covert mission to the idyllic lakeside retreat of Frederick the Great of Prussia, forays to the royal gambling tables (where Emilie put her mathematical acumen to lucrative use), and intense affairs that bent but did not break their bond.
Along with its riveting portrait of Voltaire as a vulnerable romantic, Passionate Minds at last does justice to the supremely unconventional life and remarkable achievements of Emilie du Châtelet—including her work on the science of fire and the nature of light. Long overlooked, her story tells us much about women’s lives at the time of the Enlightenment. Equally important, it demonstrates how this graceful, quick-witted, and attractive woman worked out the concepts that would lead directly to the “squared” part of Einstein’s revolutionary equation: E=mc2.
Based on a rich array of personal letters, as well as writings from houseguests, neighbors, scientists, and even police reports,
Passionate Minds is both panoramic and intimate in feeling. It is an unforgettable love story and a vivid rendering of the birth of modern ideas.
Customer Reviews:
Passionate Minds, Dull Book.......2007-08-03
This reader did not venture upon Passionate Minds with unreasonable expectations: a good yarn featuring an enlightened cast was all. Sadly, the effort was not worth the result. A middling tale, a tabloid history, and that most hideous of affectations, aspirations to wit on the part of the author. Claims to be liberating du Chatelet from the chauvinist past revealed less about her intellectual work than the descriptions of her appearance did of her [...]. Voltaire may well have been a hypochondriacal social climber, but he deserves better than lit crit 101 reviews of his work. The author seems extremely uncomfortable with the period: kings must be stupid & useless, aristocrats are not much better, merchants are hard working, peasants are earthy. When claiming that Voltaire's relationship with his niece was fine, because those things were more acceptable in such debauched times, Bodanis overlooks that minor inconvenience known as canon law. He also, presumably for reasons of humour, refers to Madame de Pompadour as Ms Poisson, combining historical innacuracy with silliness - this is not feminism, it is just plain wrong. The period and people covered by this book are fascinating in so many ways, yet the end result is shallow and dull.
Great History.......2007-07-24
This book gave me a fascinating piece of history that I was completly uninformed on. It is fascinating learning the details regarding life in a period that is completly foreign to our culture. It is also fascinating to find out the contributions that women made in science at a time when it was believed that women were completly ignorant, and every effort was made to keep them so.
"You are a delight/You are tender/What pleasure I find in your arms." Immortal verse?.......2007-04-18
I must thoroughly agree with the Publisher's Weekly reviewer of this book. Although it promises to deliver sensational events such as hot love affairs and outrageous behavior in addition to enlightening us about the brilliance of Voltaire and the genius of Emilie du Chatelet, this writer cannot live up to his own book's expectations or his clear attempt to pen a bestseller. What I felt I was getting was the diary entries of a peeping Tom who was busy sticking his nose into the sordid soap opera that was the "great love affair of the Enlightenment." I never had a sense that I was in the presence of a brilliant woman. Rather, Emilie comes off as a hedonistic and conflicted female, fatally insecure, and overshadowed by the even more insecure and narcissistic Voltaire. Although lots of information is imparted between the covers of this book, it never seems to gel into a cohesive or gripping whole, and I was left feeling flat, not only about the featured on-again, off-again eighteenth-century rock-star couple, but about eighteenth-century France altogether. No one seemed worth reading about. The lot of these folks apparently were stuck in their petty, class conscious, foolish ways, fawning over the court, slapping around the general population who weren't upper class, and generally being idiots. Perhaps the best I can say about this work is that it redeems science and rational thinking as well as the integrity of the individual, but only in a backhanded way. I'm afraid most readers will give up on this endless recounting of flaming passions and pettifoggery before getting halfway through. Lucky would they be too because they would happily miss the glaring and unforgivable fragment on p. 163: "But not only was the water cleaner in Cirey. There was also something more to Emilie's innovation." Editor please!
History comes alive........2007-04-05
In writing history for the masses, the author can take a major or a minor role. In the former, the history is more important than entertaining and the author has to pull the narrative along with great effort and undergo great travails to make the story interesting to the reader. In the latter, the history is so compelling and so entertaining that it defies logic, all the author has to do is tell the tale without much ornamentation nor effort.
David Bodanis, much to his credit, combined the best of both situations. The history is remarkbable to begin with, AND he put forth a valiant effort in research and sheer completeness. The story of Emilie Du Chatelet is so amazing and so very interesting that I wondered why I had not heard about her before this book. I think that it is because the story lay so deep and domant within the history of the French revolution and Voltaire's biographical details that no one lese had bothered to look it up and comprehend the importance and fun of her story.
Since the history involves two people who were lovers and partners, it is inevitable that we compare the two in terms of intellect, temperament, achievement, and personality. In my humble opinion, Voltaire came out the worse for wear on that account. Perhaps this was Bodanis' intent, perhaps it is just the charm of Emilie Du Chatelet. If I had my wish, I would much rather have an audience with her than with him, but not by much. Her achievements were astounding, she was, a natural philosopher in the finest sense of the phrase. Given the discriminatory stance of the scientific establishment at the time, her achievements were remarkable.
Far beyond that, it seems she was also the better diplomat, realist, politician, and intellect of the pair. This is not to denigrate Voltiare's prowess as playwright or provocateur extraordinaire, but his intellect seem less impressive by comparison.
The added incentive to read the book comes from the swashbuckling episodes in their lives together that was worthy of a cinematic presentation. Bodanis does an excellent job of building the suspense while also keeping the story line flowing through his fine skills. I guess the best compliment I can pay him is to say that I had to check the book cover numeorus times to ascertain that I was, indeed, reading non-fiction rather than fiction.
a casual but entertaining biography.......2007-02-10
I became interested in Emilie du Chatelet after reading a review of Judith Zinsser's biography on her. However, I ended up picking up Bodanis's book instead because it was written in a more welcoming style than Zinsser's drier account.
Emilie du Chatelet is a fascinating woman whose story needs little embelishment to be an entertaining read, but Bodanis's sense of humor and intimate approach to writing her biography do make it more intersting and readable. While he often goes out on a limb making assumptions about people's thoughts and actions that surely weren't documented, I don't think he was too unrealistic or uncalled for in doing so.
Bodanis also does a fine job intertwining the biography of Voltaire into Emilie's story, bringing to light Voltaire's little-known in science. He elegantly ties their lives into the climate of the Enlightenment and the events leading up to the French Revolution. In doing so, he introduces a tapestry of characters that played a key role in history as well as in Emilie and Voltaire's lives.
Absent from this book is anything more than a glossing-over of Emilie's scientific and mathematical contributions. Yet I can understand why this was done-- the light narrative of the book would have been bogged down by in-depth calculations and explainations that some readers may not be interested in or understand. Nevertheless, as a woman who loves math and science I was disappointed that Bodanis didn't go into greater detail here.
It's not often that I read more than one book on a particular person or subject (there are just too many interesting things to learn in this world), but now I'm eager to read more about Emile du Chatelet and will be picking up Judith Zinsser's more serious and detailed book soon. A quick and engaging read, Passionate Minds is an excellent introduction to this amazing lady.
Average customer rating:
- Material Girl...100 years ago.
- money changes everything
- my favorite novel of all time
- The Sex & the City of the 1890s.
- Sister Carrie (a review for Eng 474)
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Sister Carrie (Signet Classics)
Theodore Dreiser
Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0451527607
Release Date: 2000-04-10 |
Amazon.com
Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser's revolutionary first novel, was published in 1900--sort of. The story of Carrie Meeber, an 18-year-old country girl who moves to Chicago and becomes a kept woman, was strong stuff at the turn of the century, and what Dreiser's wary publisher released was a highly expurgated version. Times change, and we now have a restored "author's cut" of Sister Carrie that shows how truly ahead of his time Dreiser was. First and foremost, he has written an astute, nonmoralizing account of a woman and her limited options in late-19th-century America. That's impressive in and of itself, but Dreiser doesn't stop there. Digging deeply into the psychological underpinnings of his characters, he gives us people who are often strangers to themselves, drifting numbly until fate pushes them on a path they can later neither defend nor even remember choosing.
Dreiser's story unfolds in the measured cadences of an earlier era. This sometimes works brilliantly as we follow the choices, small and large, that lead some characters to doom and others to glory. On the other hand, the middle chapters--of which there are many--do drag somewhat, even when one appreciates Dreiser's intentions. If you can make it through the sagging midsection, however, you'll be rewarded by Sister Carrie's last 150 pages, which depict the harrowing downward spiral of one of the book's central characters. Here Dreiser portrays with brutal power how the wrong decision--or lack of decision--can lay waste to a life. --Rebecca Gleason
Book Description
From the day of its troubled publication in 1900 to its inclusion in Modern Library's list of of Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century, Sister Carrie has been the source of controversy and debate. Regarded as the "first masterpiece of the American naturalistic movement" (The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature), this 100th Anniversary Edition of the classic includes additional material by the author and a new introduction by the definitive Dreiser biographer.
"Dreiser is a pioneer." --Sherwood Anderson
Download Description
Theodore Dreiser had a hardscrabble youth and the years of newspaper work behind him when he began his first novel, Sister Carrie, the story of a beautiful Midwestern girl who makes it big in New York City. Published by Doubleday in 1900, it gained a reputation as a shocker, for Dreiser had dared to give the public a heroine whose "cosmopolitan standard of virtue" brings her from Wisconsin, with four dollars in her purse, to a suite at the Waldorf and glittering fame as an actress. With Sister Carrie, the original manuscript of which is in the New York Public Library collections, Dreiser told a tale not "sufficiently delicate" for many of its first readers and critics, but which is now universally recognized as one of the greatest and most influential American novels.
Customer Reviews:
Material Girl...100 years ago. .......2007-06-16
Written at a time when women still lacked the right to vote, Sister Carrie offers an uncommon (and not initially accepted) commentary on women and independence. It also addresses that timeless theme of how the city changes the individual. Dreiser's turn of the century novel chronicles the young adult life of Carrie Meeber, who leaves her small town home for a more exciting life of Chicago. Taking residence at her sister Minnie's meager apartment, Carrie is immediately plunged into a pit of lower class struggles; to pull her weight she takes a job as a factory girl in a shoe shop for wages that can barely afford her basic necessities let alone the simple pleasures of Chicago life. Not quite used to the rigorous demands of intense manual labor, she yearns for something greater. By chance, she bumps into a wealthy, flirtatious gentleman - Drouet - whom she had previously met on her train ride into Chicago. His initial courting is unsuccessful but he eventually takes Carrie on as a kept mistress. Their relationship is at best superficial. He offers material things and compliments to her beauty.
Without spoiling the rest of the story, Carrie's raw and innocent drive for success takes her on a series of relationships and adventures first in Chicago and later in New York. As a historical piece, Dreiser provides vivid descriptions of these two cities right down to the street level. He treats the city as a state of mind, with narrative insights weaved between powerful stretches of dialogue.
100 years later, present-day readers might see Carrie as a heroine, despite her unabashed materialism. This was the very reason for its lack of marketing support; the historical fact is that the wife of Doubleday's CEO was upset by Carrie's bachelorette success going "unpunished" by the author.
As was mentioned above, the "city" has transformed her into a woman who is set in her ambitions. Dreiser's style allows us to see things from the point of view of many characters and not just Carrie's. There are snippets of moralizing here and there which give the reader a sense that Dreiser was in some ways a prophet - he foresaw the unbridled potential of American individuality, its drawbacks, and how it is generally actualized in the American city. And for the time period, this was a paradox for women. But Carrie shamelessly lives her life they way she wants to. Classism and sexism aside, Carrie Meeber carries on the American dream.
money changes everything.......2007-05-10
'Sister Carrie' is about a naive girl from the boonies, circa 1890, who travels to Chicago to find more out of life. She runs into men, gets swept into going to New York where her life goes through great changes when the man she is with, who happens to be her sole provider, completely unravels emotionally, spiritually and financially. Carrie's life proceeds in a manner very atypical of heroines of that era. The story builds to a very fine conclusion.
My only complaint with 'Sister Carrie' is that it does take some time to "warm up", and the author's writing style not especially fluid. I also felt after reading the book I never completely understood Carrie or the men in her life, ... but maybe the author left it to the reader ponder over afterwards??
Bottom line: certainly a remarkable piece of literature in its day, and thankfully the material hasn't aged a bit. Recommended.
my favorite novel of all time.......2006-12-19
Sister Carrie is my favorite novel of all time. I have read it at least twenty times in the past sixteen years. I'll spare you the literary review, which I'm sure you can read anywhere, and tell you why it still holds interest for the modern reader.
Theodore Dreiser's attention to detail was definitely one of his major strengths as a writer. I've always found the details of late 1800's Chicago and New York fascinating in this novel. If you are particularly interested in this time period, you may want to read this novel for the everyday historical details alone.
The coming-of-age theme is also one that modern readers can relate to, even though Carrie is from a different time. She leaves behind her small town and her family at the age of eighteen and is dazzled by city life. We can all relate to the degradation and desperation she feels as she seeks out her first job, and her desire for independence. Ultimately, she is successful, at least in a material sense, and the journey the reader follows her on is engaging.
I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I would highly recommend Sister Carrie. I have read most of Dreiser's other novels and several of his short stories. This is by far the best of his works, in my humble opinion.
The Sex & the City of the 1890s........2006-09-22
A girl named Carrie moves from Wisconsin to Chicago to become something. She gets in a love triangle with two men--the kind, but "inferior" Charles Drouet and the worldly, wealthy George Hurstwood. Carrie picks one of the two, and we see a reverse of good fortune. Carrie rises in society while her significant other, through a series of bad decisions, falls in society. Carrie uses these men to get what she wants, but I wouldn't exactly call her a maneater. Through failure and success and exposure to harsh reality, Carrie matures and toughens. She grows; though some may argue she becomes a worse person, not a better one.
This was Theodore Dreiser's first novel. It is a very good story and a very easy read.
Sister Carrie also delves into the cutthroat conditions of the late 1890's. The ease at which someone became homeless and was at the mercy of other people's compassion was very scary. This book made me deathly afraid of becoming homeless. I can't tell you how paranoid I was. Some people seem to think everyone who is homeless asked for it by being lazy or indulging in bad habits. But if we realized how quickly good fortune could change, maybe we could be a little more sensitive and sympathetic to people who find themselves on the street. It could easily be us: even those of us who aren't stupid or frivolous with our money.
Sister Carrie (a review for Eng 474).......2006-09-20
Sister Carrie, by Theodore Dreiser, is, in short, the tale of a small-town country girl's attempts to rise to aristocracy in the cutthroat world of the early 20th century. After many adventures, and some trials and tribulations, Carrie does find the affluence and financial success that she desired more than anything else in the world - but there is more to it than that.
Carrie from the beginning seems to be the very emblem of a consumer driven materialistic society, and there seems to be no doubt about this as the book continues on. She seems possessed by the inanimate, and seems to completely disregard anything other than the right clothes, the right place to work, and her appearance. Carrie is seemingly vapid, and, as she struggles to "make it" by letting Drouet take care of her and give her his money, she hardly acknowledges the fact that he has helped pull her out of poverty. Once she is able, she throws him away in order to be with Hurstwood, a man of even more wealth and connection. However, it needs to be said that Carrie is not stupid. As materialistic and shallow as she seems to be, she is intriguing nonetheless. She knows how to get what she wants, how to manipulate others into giving her what she wants, and there is something about her that even the men of the novel seem to find irresistible. She is most definitely worth a deeper analysis.
The fact remains, however, that none of the characters seem likeable. They all lack depth, don't seem to have agency, and remain basically static throughout the entirety of the novel. But this is brilliance on Dreiser's part, because it seems to serve as a commentary of the society in which the characters are a part. They seem to perfectly represent a world which also seems to lack in depth and focuses solely on exterior, surface-level qualities.
Dreiser's novel is a powerful and accurate portrayal of a materialistic society and the ways in which living such a shallow life can ultimately lead to the downward spiral and complete end of a person, like Hurstwood, or the forever unfulfilled and never-quite-satisfied attitude of Carrie's. But Beware: the prose tends to positively drag in many places, mostly through the middle section of the book, moving at an almost ridiculously slow pace. Nonetheless, it is still worth the time.
Customer Reviews:
The Mistress Manual.......2007-10-02
This book is EXCELLENT for beginners and good for dominants who have a little more experience. I would also recommend for subs to read most of this book, it would be helpful in deciding and telling your significant other what you want and what you would like to try. VERY good book, in depth, and it reads very well.
My girlfriend went nuts for this!.......2007-07-25
Innocent, sweet, wholesome small town girl....now a whip wielding, thigh high leather boot wearing dominatrix....!!!! Get your lady a copy!
Mysoginistic. . ........2007-04-02
Most of this book is tainted with this woman's petty revenge fantasies. She can't seem to seperate the idea of a well balanced BDSM relationship, founded on ideas such as trust and respect, from her indignacy at her perceived "second class citizen" status because she is a woman. I know several very self possessed dominant women in my circle who were aghast at the lack of respect represented in this book for the submissive partner.
Interesting and entertaining. Could help conservative couple's to spice up their love lives........2007-02-26
I work in the capacity of a personal and professional growth coach with a very sex positive approach. I find that when people have issues, they often show up eventually in the bedroom. I also have an assumption that our society has both a fascination with sex and at the same time a lot of guilt, shame and ignorance around it, especially areas involving sexual fantasies.
As a psychological professional, I see that shame and guilt around certain fantasies often leads to acting out. Husbands and wives are often reticent to share some of their fantasies because of shame and this creates a barrier between them. In my practice, I have found honest, humor and a safe environment leads to increased intimacy and a safe space to explore new behaviors that enhance intimacy.
In our culture, women often feel disempowered and sometimes they fantasize about turning the tables. A lot of men find this interesting too and sometimes even pay for it because they are too ashamed to discuss this desire with their wife or partner. While there is a lot of material out there on this topic and other related topics, not all of them are equal.
I came across this book accidentally in a bookstore and picked it up and started reading it. I found it entertaining and it had some ideas that I laughed at and others that sounded very interesting. This book also explored five archetypal fantasies that form the basis of many men's fantasies with respect to a woman being dominant. This was an interesting discussion and it lead deeper into the territory of how to discuss these fantasies with a partner and use this material to spice up your sexual communication and sex life.
This title is geared to conversative couples who want to wade slowly into exploring new sexual territory. As such, it is an excellent start. I personally believe that although sex is to be taken very seriously, it also important to balance this with humor and a sense of playfulness. This book has this type of approach and would be good for a lot of couples interested in this area to explore together.
Also, as part of my work I deal with people who have sexual addictions, sexual co-dependency, etc. I think there is potential in many sexual activities to go too far and the area of domination/submission role playing is no exception. However, like most things, it can be fun and beneficial in moderation. What moderation is depends upon each individual couple and what they co-create together as a safe space for sexual play.
I would love to see a world where people were less inhibited and open to learning more about their psyche and needs through the safe and open exploration of their fantasies. What we repress, we often act out and try to work out on the outside. Also, these fantasies sometimes point to deep needs, past wounds and provide compensatory mechanisms in the psyche.
If you want to introduce a partner who is shy or inhibited, but that you suspect has an interest in this area, this is probably the best book you can start with. If you are into the scene already, it may be a lot of material you've already seen. However, it's a nice, brief introduction to a taboo topic and I appreciate the sex positive approach.
I am currently doing research in the area of healthy sexuality and some must have books I've come across are YOUR EROTIC MIND, THE EVOLUTION OF DESIRE and DARK EROS. I think it is very important to explore the entire psyche and seek integration rather than cutting off or being ashamed of kinks or desire that other people might find as odd. These books that I mentioned above will help you to understand why you have the types of fantasies you have, where they come from, what they might mean and help you to develop a healthy realtionship to them.
A Fem Dom's Opinion.......2007-02-16
This book had some good introductory information, but would be most effective when used in conjunction with another BDSM primer. It offered alot of useful information,but could have benefitted from having a few diagrams. (i.e. the areas of safe spanking)Still over all a satisfactory read.
Book Description
The remarkable Mary Nisbet was the Countess of Elgin in Romantic-era Scotland and the wife of the seventh Earl of Elgin. When Mary accompanied her husband to diplomatic duty in Turkey, she changed history. She helped bring the smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, struck a seemingly impossible deal with Napoleon, and arranged the removal of famous marbles from the Parthenon. But all of her accomplishments would be overshadowed, however, by her scandalous divorce. Drawing from Mary's own letters, scholar
Susan Nagel tells Mary's enthralling, inspiring, and suspenseful story in vibrant detail.
Customer Reviews:
A charming women.......2006-01-18
Mary Nisbet was the definition of an aristocrat. She lived a life most people dream of: She was good looking, charming, intelligent, extremely wealthy, and was admired and respected by some of the most powerful people around.
So what will you get out of by reading this book? Your be put into the shoes of Mary Nisbet and her extravagant lifestyle. Your get to know her spendthrift husband and his preoccupation with marbles from Parthenon. But really not much else.
The book is based off of Mary's diary, which really helped give the book life.
So, I'm giving the book 3 stars because the book was written fairly well, but the story was a little boring.
Absorbing.......2004-10-29
I just finished reading Susan Nagel's wonderful Biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin. Rarely do I read Biographies and feel so intimately close to the subject as I did with this well researched piece of work. I felt as if I had lived right along with Mary through her travels, adventures, exploits and tragedies. Packed with Romantic locals and historical people. An intimate peek into a fascinating life, who was Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin.
Quite a Girl!.......2004-10-29
Quite a Girl! We have this vision of the women of a century ago being totally subservient to the men. It has been the men who made history. Where there have been women in the story, they are often viewed only as a companion to the men, as examples, the recent biographies of Washington and Nelson. In recent years we've begun to see well written biographies of women who certainly led fascinating lives.
Mary Nisbet was smart, rich, beautiful. She took smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, brought classical marbles from the Parthenon back to England (before Napoleon could get them). Then she 'replaced' her husband with his best friend.
Quite a Girl, Very interesting character, well written book.
If you love Patrick O'Brian..........2004-09-10
"Remember the ladies" Abigail Adams charged her husband John -- that's what Nagel does with "Mary Nisbet"; she fills in fascinating and colorful details of the world of the women of society in England during the war against Napoleon. All the teasing glimpses we get in O'Brian's masculine epic are fleshed out, as it were; the opulence of the Bey's court; Emma Hamilton's manipulation of Admiral Nelson; the impact of the war with Napoleon on life and travel -- all the dinner parties O'Brian glossed over in passing come springing to vivid life as we read from Mary's actual letters. If you loved Master and Commander or the whole series, pick this up and treat yourself to a richer picture of the period.
Captivating History-With Romance and Adventure.......2004-08-24
Susan Nagel's biography of the Countess of Elgin makes history come alive in a dramatic, romantic page-turner. You'll be transported to a land of wealth and privilege, where egg-sized emeralds are exchanged as small tokens of affection, where cannons salute the arrival of dignitaries into new ports and where love of art and love of man mixes to create a heady and destructive combination of emotions.
This book is perfect for a day at the beach or an evening curled up at home - if only all history could be this fun!
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