BOOK REVIEW: 1876 by Gore Vidal

Way back in 2011, I read Gore Vidal’s Burr, and didn’t like it. Too dense, too dull, and the protagonists (the aged Aaron Burr and the young Charlie Schuyler) were not sympathetic characters. I couldn’t see why Vidal got such rave reviews. Nevertheless, an interest in the post-Civil War years and the Gilded Age led me to pick up Vidal’s 1876.

Schuyler is now a successful journalist/historian, who has spent the last 39 years in Paris, sending home occasional articles and writing a few books. Against his inclination, he must return to his native country. He arrives with his daughter, Emma, a Frenchwoman through and through, and a princess to boot. He has returned because he lost his fortune in the crash of 1873, his daughter is widowed, and he is desperate to earn enough by his writing to support them both. Additional goals are to find a comfortably wealthy husband for Emma. And to see Governor Samuel Tilden (the reformer who brought down Boss Tweed) elected President. Schuyler believes it likely that he will be appointed ambassador to France if Tilden, a friend, is elected.

The novel traces the political maneuverings of 1876 that culminated in Tilden winning the popular vote by a comfortable margin, but nevertheless having the election stolen by Rutherford B. Hayes. It also follows the fortunes of Schuyler and Emma. Finally, it showcases the New York City, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia of 1876, including its socialites and politicians.

Although the novel started a bit slow, it quickly became engrossing. Vidal’s gift for writing vivid historical detail makes the book truly read like a first person account. He manages to present the complicated politics, the corruption, the role of the press – all filtered through Schuyler’s biased, dry, cynical viewpoint in a way that is depressing and amusing at the same time.

Schuyler as an old man, not in the best of health, in a financially precarious state, yet still very much respected by movers and shakers, is a much more interesting protagonist than the young Charlie in Burr. He is funny. At various times, his observations of people and situations had me laughing out loud.

This book was so enjoyable, I’ve changed my mind on Gore Vidal. Not only do I want to read more of his work, but I’m considering going back and re-evaluating Burr.

BOOK REVIEW: A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh

I love the convenience of requesting books online from my local library. One downside, however, is that I rarely spend time browsing in the library and picking something to read on the spur of the moment. Recently I decided to do just that, and took home an "old" (2010) Historical Romance by Mary Balogh: A Secret Affair.

The Duchess of Dunbarton (Hannah) is known to the ton as a breathtakingly beautiful woman who, at the age of nineteen, captured the elderly confirmed bachelor, the Duke. She obviously married for his title and money, while he obviously could not resist her beauty. It is also known that she took many lovers during their marriage, which, incredibly, lasted ten years before he finally died. Now, after an obligatory year of mourning, the Duchess is back in London for a Season and the ton eagerly anticipates her next move.

Constantine Huxtable (tall, dark, and handsome) is the eldest son of an earl, but since he was born two days before his parents’ marriage, his illegitimacy made him ineligible to inherit the title. His younger brother inherited, then died at sixteen, and the title and estates went to a cousin. Mr. Huxtable has not wasted time mourning lost chances, but has made himself as comfortable in society as if he were an earl. That includes taking a mistress each Season in London before retiring back to his country estate.

The Duchess plans to take a lover and she intends that it be Constantine. Although he has always chosen his own mistress in the past, he is willing to be chosen this time. Their affair begins with passion and a mutual agreement that it will be short-term and superficial.

Of course, it is neither.

Both have carefully cultivated their scandalous reputations in order to conceal deeply private pasts brimful of hurt and insecurity. Although both move easily in society, they are lonely. And it doesn’t take long before they spill their secrets to one another and fall in love.

Although predictable, the story is fun and the characters are charming. They tend a little too much towards long speeches pouring out their past woes, but they also engage in witty banter. I haven’t read any of the other books in this particular Romance series but now I’m considering looking up the rest and reading them in order.

BOOK REVIEW: Whatever's Been Going On at Mumblesby? by Colin Watson

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence my review.

I’ve been working my way through Colin Watson’s re-released series: A Flaxborough Mystery, starring Inspector Purbright. Without thinking too much about it, I envisioned the series to be infinite and was surprised to learn that there were only twelve books and that the one I most recently downloaded was the twelfth – but I haven’t read that many. I’m reading them out of order! I’m going to have to go back and fill in the missing ones.

I just finished Whatever’s Been Going On at Mumblesby?. Our protagonist, Inspector Purbright, dutifully attends the funeral of a prosperous solicitor who collected antiques in the nearby village of Mumblesby, a village within the district of Chief Constable Chubb, Purbright’s boss. What should have been a mere courtesy – the man’s death was not suspicious – turns into another criminal investigation.

Mumblesby is a snooty village, inhabited by a few wealthy farmers and unpleasant members of the upper class. The recently deceased, Mr. Loughbury, is survived by a common-law wife who is much disdained as a gold-digger. Actually, she is a gold-digger. And she’s unapologetic about it. Moreover, she’s aware that some of the priceless antiques her husband has obtained, from those snooty neighbors, were not acquired in a strictly legal way. Nevertheless, she intends to sell them and reap the rewards.

That doesn’t make her a murderess. Especially since her husband died of natural causes. However, there was a suspicious death in Mumblesby’s past, ruled a suicide by a previous inspector. Now that Purbright is on the scene, and following what appears to be a threat on the life of Mrs. Loughbury, the investigation is reopened.

As is typical in Watson’s mysteries, the story opens in a rather scrambled fashion with abundant clues that make no sense. There are numerous newly introduced characters, presented with biting humor, and a few old favorites like Sergeant Love and Miss Teatime doing their part. It is Purbright’s steady, determined, yet placid investigating that pulls all the loose ends together.

These are not psychological studies of the investigator, or mystery/Romances where the detective and an interfering helper fall in love. The focus is squarely on solving the crime. Even so, the personality of the dedicated Purbright shines through and the narrator’s irony keeps these stories entertaining.

BOOK REVIEW: In the Presence of Evil by Tania Bayard

Christine de Pisan, a brilliant medieval lady of letters, is the heroine of a new historical mystery series. I reviewed the book for the Historical Novels Review (e-galley of book received from Netgalley.) 

See my review here.

BOOK REVIEW: Brave New Earl by Jane Ashford

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence my review.

I haven’t been to the beach, but I’m indulging in some summer beach reads. Brave New Earl by Jane Ashford is a soon-to-be released Regency Romance with a sweet story and sympathetic characters.

The earl in question is the Earl of Furness (Benjamin), a widower of five years with a five-year-old son. (Yes, his wife died in childbirth.) He is sunk in mourning to the extent that he rather shamefully neglects his son, partly because the child resembles his wife to a painful extent. The child is growing up to be wild and undisciplined. A succession of nursemaids can do nothing with him. There is a recent addition to the household, a fourteen-year-old orphan boy (Tom) with a wealth of experience in odd jobs, whose good nature and common sense make him a perfect companion/mentor for the boy (Gregory). However, Benjamin is not even aware that Tom is in the house. And Tom is not a long-term solution.

Enter Miss Jean Saunders, a distant cousin of the deceased wife, who has heard tales of the neglected child of the morose earl. The victim of a dreadful childhood, Jean is appalled to think of any child being ill-treated, let alone a relative of hers. She descends on the house in a righteous fury, determined to cart the boy off to his grandparents where she will assure he is cared for and loved. She doesn’t expect the earl to resist, but he does.

Benjamin is irritated beyond measure at the busy-body who has invaded his home. However, he does notice how pretty she is. She notices his good looks as well. He also sees that she has a point; he isn’t being a very good father, while she sees that he is not as disinterested a parent as she feared.

Both have the child’s best interests at heart, though they aren’t exactly sure how to go about improving things. Despite their initial discomfort with one another, they decide to work together to whip Benjamin’s household into shape and do what’s right for Gregory.

Their discomfort turns to passion and love, of course. There are some amusing episodes along the way. There is also the emotional baggage each carries that needs to be overcome.

I’ve read Jane Ashford before, (see my review of The Duke Knows Best), and find her Romances to be light, enjoyable reads.

BOOK REVIEW: Summer by Edith Wharton

It felt like time to read a classic, so I chose Summer by Edith Wharton.

Charity Royall is a beautiful young woman who was brought up in the home of a small-town lawyer and his wife in North Dormer, Massachusetts. The tiny, rural town lives in the shadow of "The Mountain," which is home to a community of impoverished, uneducated, hopeless people who are scorned and feared by the whole town. Charity had been born to a woman on The Mountain, but was brought down by Mr. Royall as a young child. He was doing a good deed for a man he had sent to prison for murder, Charity’s father.

Charity lives a lonely, isolated existence as the town’s librarian. She lives with Mr. Royall but she despises him. He’d come to her one night after his wife died, hoping to sleep with her, but she turned him away in horror. Since then, he’s kept his distance.

One day, a young man comes to town to spend time with his aunt while studying local architectural history. In short, he seduces Charity.

There is a stark difference between the colorless loneliness and lack of future that Charity feels before Lucius Harney arrives and the bright, passionate, living-for-the-moment existence that she discovers when she is with him. The romance is bittersweet. The reader knows that this will not work out well. Lucius appears to be gentle and kind to her. However, she feels unworthy of him – she is, after all, descended from mountainfolk, while he is an educated city dweller. Worse, he feels superior to her. The gulf between them makes any marriage so far out of the question that it never comes up until the issue is forced. Lucius may not consider her a suitable option for a wife, but he is perfectly content to use her and let her believe he’s in love.

All the while, Mr. Royall tries to warn her, earning only her anger and hatred. He’s an unpleasant character as well, significantly older and prone to drunkenness. But he provides a sort of safety net for her. And eventually, she needs that safety net. She becomes pregnant. Lucius takes off with vague promises to return.

Charity decides to run back to the Mountain where she believes her people are, but discovers pretty quickly that she can’t return to that community of despair. She cannot raise her own child there.

With nowhere to turn, she finds Mr. Royall coming to her rescue. He still wants to marry her and provide for her. Passively, she lets this happen too.

The story is depressing as many of Wharton’s works are. It’s beautifully written and Charity’s musings and distraction as Lucius becomes her whole world illustrate wonderfully the all-encompassing nature of a first love. Charity’s naivete and almost determined blindness to reality are heartbreaking but realistic. The reader (and Mr. Royall) can see that the young man is using Charity. But it’s easy to see how she falls for him nevertheless. The ending is ambiguously painful. Is she fortunate to have Mr. Royall’s devotion to fall back on? Or was it her inevitable fate to end up miserably trapped in a life with him?