Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be by Haley Stewart - Review

So when you have a to be read list as long as your arm you shouldn’t be looking on Netgalley, but I was, and this title caught my eye. Let’s take a look at the (very long) blurb, and then I’ll let you know what I thought of Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be by Haley Stewart 

Book Description

Popular Catholic podcaster Haley Stewart insists that there's no better life coach than nineteenth-century British novelist Jane Austen.

In this uniquely Catholic take, Stewart reveals Austen's thoughtful, deeply personal exploration of human relationships--including with God--through her six novels. Stewart's insights take you on a journey that is both literary and spiritual, revealing how Austen's characters and themes can lead to you to discover and become the person God has called you to be.

Stewart draws fascinating connections between Austen's novels and real life and introduces Austen as a capable life coach by how she guides her readers to understand virtue and vice through friendship, love, community, and God's grace. Austen's characters reveal how virtuous habits transform us and help us become who we were meant to be. Each chapter focuses on characters and virtues from a single novel:

·        Do you find yourself swayed by superficial charm and yearn to see others more clearly? Let Elizabeth Bennet teach you how to recognize substance in others and address the pride in your own heart through the cultivation of humility (Pride and Prejudice).

·        Are you stuck in selfishness that wounds others (and yourself)? Let Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley help you develop the compassion to see the world more clearly with the eyes of Christ (Emma).

·        Do you get swept away into poor choices due to a lack of self-control? Let the Dashwood sisters show you the virtue of temperance and guide you to embrace your God-given personality and temperament (Sense and Sensibility.

·        Do you have treasured ideals but struggle to live them out? Follow along with Edmund Bertram's journey toward constancy through the example of Fanny Price (Mansfield Park).

·        Have the disappointments of life grown resentment or bitterness in your heart? Be inspired by Anne Elliot's vulnerable fortitude in the storms of life (Persuasion).

·        Do you struggle to know what to do or who to believe in tricky situations? Join Catherine Morland in learning prudence to know and act on the truth (Northanger Abbey).

Whether you are already an Austen fan or are discovering her works for the first time, Stewart's infectious enthusiasm and captivating spiritual insights will have you digging in to experience firsthand the characters and stories that have captured imaginations in book and film for more than two centuries.

Discussion questions and recommended film adaptations make this book suitable for individual or group use or as a high school classroom or homeschool resource. A free, downloadable leader's guide is available at avemariapress.com.

Mrs Collins' Lover by Bronwen Chisholm - Author Interview and Giveaway

Today I’m very happy to be hosting a first time visitor to Babblings of a Bookworm. A very warm welcome goes to Bronwen Chisholm, who has written a new Pride & Prejudice variation, Mrs Collins’ Lover. As I don’t know Bronwen very well, she has agreed for an author interview, and she's brought a giveaway too!

Let’s take a look at the blurb for Mrs Collins’ Lover, and then we will pour out a virtual cuppa and have a chat with Bronwen.

Book Description

Elizabeth Bennet was raised with a strong belief and faith in God's plan for her life. She knew He had a plan, even if the details were hidden from her. But, when placed in an untenable situation, she turned instead to the arms of a man to find brief moments of joy. Finally, when able to realize the happiness which was always intended for her, the weight of her guilt over her past sins convinces her of her unworthiness. Only through reconciliation with the Lover of her soul can she truly fulfill the life He planned for her. But first, she must forgive herself in order to find redemption.

Remember: In order to be redeemed, there must be sin. This story is intended for mature audiences. Trigger Warning: There are incidents of abuse in this story.

Austen in Austin Volume 1 Anthology - My Review

Recently Debra E. Marvin joined me for a guest post and giveaway of 'Austen in Austin', an anthology that Debra has contributed a story to. The giveaway of a paperback of the anthology for US entrants and an ebook, open to all entrants is open until the end of the day on Monday 30 May so please comment on the giveaway post to enter, and for a bonus entry, leave a comment on this review too.

Reconciled for Easter by Noelle Adams

This is the fourth book in the 'Willow Park' series, each following a different couple. They are stand-alone stories, but the characters crop up as secondary characters in more than one book. This is the story of Abigail and her estranged husband Thomas, who is the brother of Lydia, the heroine of book three, ‘Family for Christmas’. Abigail and Thomas are separated, but have been attempting to reconcile. This hasn’t been going very well and they’ve taken a six-month break from counselling. At the end of the six months they are going to make a final decision whether to get back together or divorce.

The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen - Blog Tour

You may have seen that there is a blog tour of 'The Secret of Pembrooke Park' currently underway. Today the blog tour stops here with my review. Read on to see my thoughts on this book, and please note that there are some great prizes up for grabs with the blog tour (more details below my review).

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Award winning historical romance author Julie Klassen tours the blogosphere February 16 through March 2 to share her latest release, The Secret of Pembrooke Park. Twenty five popular book bloggers specializing in historical and Austenesque fiction will feature guest blogs, interviews, book reviews and excerpts of this acclaimed gothic Regency romance novel. A fabulous giveaway contest, including copies of all of Ms. Klassen’s eight books and other Jane Austen-themed items, is open to those who join the festivities.

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This is a story set in 1818. The Foster family have suffered a reverse in fortune, having invested in a bank run by a relative that has gone bust. The heroine of our story, 24 year old Miss Abigail Foster, feels extremely guilty about this. It was on her advice that her father invested in her uncle’s business. Now it seems possible that her beautiful younger sister’s London season may not be the triumph that she’s always been expecting. However, the Fosters get given a mysterious offer, via a solicitor – an unknown relative of theirs has offered them a country house to rent at a nominal rate. The house, Pembrooke Park, has been uninhabited for 18 years, so it will need some work to bring it up to a decent standard. Although the offer is quite mysterious, especially as the solicitor is not at liberty to divulge the name of their client, or even who the owner of the property is, it seems too good an opportunity not to investigate further, particularly coming at a time when the Fosters really need to retrench and sell their London home.

Mrs Foster and her younger daughter remain in town with a relative while Mr Foster and Abigail travel to Pembrooke Park to see the house, with a view to moving in and starting work straight away, if it’s habitable. When they arrive at the house they are met with a less than warm welcome, instead a man brandishes a gun at them! Once inside the house, things are even more intriguing. Rather than look like a house that’s been closed up, with furniture covered and so on, instead things look like the inhabitants simply vanished. Many personal effects are there, including something that even I as a reader coveted, a dolls house which is an exact replica of the house. The house seems to have been left so suddenly that there is even a tea set still out on the table, with tea residue in the cups.

‘It appeared as though the occupants had just been called away. A tea set sat on the round table, cups encrusted with dry tea. A book lay open over the arm of the sofa. A needlework project, nearly finished, lay trapped under an overturned chair. 

What had happened here? Why had the family left so abruptly, and why had the rooms been entombed for almost two decades?’

As Abigail works to bring the house back into order she begins to know people in the local community. The man who brandished the gun at her, Mac Chapman, is the former steward of the estate and very loyal to his former employer. He won’t tell Abigail anything about the Pembrooke family. Others in the area are similarly oddly reticent about the Pembrookes. Abigail befriends Mac’s family, particularly his grown up children, William, the curate of the area, and beautiful, shy Leah. Abigail goes on to meet other people in the area, from landed gentry, through villagers and down to servants. It seems though, that nearly everybody she meets is keeping a secret of one sort or another. There is rumoured to be treasure hidden at Pembrooke Park. If it’s real, possibly Abigail could find it. Can Abigail find out the secrets of Pembrooke Park, or are some secrets better off being forgotten?

This story is inspired by the gothic romances of the time, with a nod to Jane Austen’s ‘Northanger Abbey’ which I read last month in preparation for reading this. It’s quite a contrast to Northanger Abbey though. Catherine sees things which aren’t there and Abigail keeps telling herself that there is nothing there even though she is afraid there might be. This quote in particular reminded me of the Northanger connection and how an older and more sensible heroine than Catherine Morland might deal with a potential Gothic mystery.

‘Heart pounding, she gingerly leaned forward and peered over the stair rail, her candle’s light barely penetrating the darkness below. A hooded figure floated down the last few stairs. Stunned, she blinked. But when she looked again, the stairs were empty. She had probably only imagined the dark apparition.  

With a shiver, she decided that was the last time she would read gothic fiction.’

Since this has the word ‘secret’ in the title I was expecting a level of mystery and I wasn’t disappointed; quite a few of the characters have secrets or at least know some of what happened to the previous tenants of Pembrooke Park and Abigail is just trying to piece it together. I will tell you now that I managed to work out the secrets before they were revealed, so it’s not too difficult, but things are revealed gradually so it’s also not too easy. I don’t think you’d be able to put all the pieces together very early on, as there is so little to go on.  Along with mystery we also have some peril, which made for an exciting read at points.

Even with all this mystery going on I still want some romance and I felt that ‘The Secret of Pembrooke Park’ delivered on this score. Abigail has had her time amongst London society and has had no offers, but then, she didn’t want any – for many years she has held a special place in her heart and her dreams for family friend Gilbert. However, he has gone to Italy to pursue his dreams of a career in architecture and before he left Abigail got the impression that he showed signs of admiring her beautiful younger sister. Unsure how Gilbert will feel when he returns, Abigail moves to the countryside free of ties. She meets with a fair amount of admiration in the new neighbourhood, which is especially gratifying as she is somebody who views herself as plain. I knew this would be a romance with no sex scenes, as this author writes for a Christian publisher, but this doesn’t mean that there is no passion, there is certainly that, and a fair bit of romance too.

As I said, this book is from Bethany House Publishing so I was expecting a Christian message. However the message doesn’t feel forced. One of the characters is a curate who delivers sermons so the Christianity is present in that, as you’d expect and there were also some biblical references but they seemed quite natural in historical books as religion was a part of life that was more apparent in everyday society in the past. One theme that I enjoyed contemplating in the book was whether the sins of the father should be borne by the children. To an extent, our parents’ decisions shape us, no matter we choose to do our position in life up to a certain age is affected by our parents’ decisions, so that was an interesting theme, and not overdone.

I sometimes find historical stories frustrating because of the behaviour and language used, as all too often they are too modern. I wasn’t sure about how proper Abigail’s behaviour was (I don’t mean the bits that were clearly improper!), such as going to events alone with a young man. She is also left alone at Pembrooke Park by her father for quite a few days, when I would have expected that she would have needed a companion or a family member. I don’t know how proper this was but it certainly left me feeling quite angry with her father for taking advantage of her! There were some instances of words that jumped out at me as being too modern or American and there were some small things like food being eaten out of season but I am more picky than most people in this respect and a lot of readers might not notice these things as much. One thing that surprised me, when I looked back at things I’d highlighted in the book, was just how long the book is because it didn’t feel long to me at all, it doesn’t drag or feel stretched out.

In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed pondering the mystery, I enjoyed the friendships, the romance, the danger and the action. I liked how Abigail grew to value herself as a woman, rather than just as a housekeeper for her family. I’d certainly recommend this book to fellow historical romance lovers and I’d rate it at 4½ stars.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

In the spring of 1818, twenty-four-year-old Abigail Foster fears she is destined to become a spinster. Her family’s finances are in ruins and the one young man she truly esteems has fallen for another woman — her younger, prettier sister Louisa.

Forced to retrench after the bank failure of Austen, Gray & Vincent, the Foster family optimistically pool their resources for another London Season for her sister in hopes of an advantageous alliance. While searching for more affordable lodgings, a surprising offer is presented: the use of a country manor house in Berkshire abandoned for eighteen years. The Fosters journey to the imposing Pembrooke Park and are startled to find it entombed as it was abruptly left, the tight-lipped locals offering only rumors of a secret room, hidden treasure and a murder in its mysterious past. 

Eager to restore her family fortune, Abigail, with the help of the handsome local curate William Chapman and his sister Leah, begins her search into the heavily veiled past aided by unsigned journal pages from a previous resident and her own spirited determination. As old friends and new foes come calling at Pembrooke Park, secrets come to light. Will Abigail find the treasure and love she seeks...or very real danger?

BUY LINKS:  « Amazon « Barnes & Noble « ChristianBook.com « Book Depository « Indie Bound « Goodreads « Publishers Page «

AUTHOR BIO:

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her books have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. She has also been a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Awards. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Learn more about Julie and her books at her website, follower her on Twitter, and visit her on Facebook and Goodreads.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Grand Giveaway Contest

Win One of Four Fabulous Prizes

In celebration of the release of The Secret of Pembrooke Park, four chances to win copies of Julie’s books and other Jane Austen-inspired items are being offered. 

Three lucky winners will receive one trade paperback or eBook copy of The Secret of Pembrooke Park, and one grand prize winner will receive one copy of all eight of Julie’s novels: Lady of Milkweed Manor, The Apothecary's Daughter, The Silent Governess, The Girl in the Gatehouse, The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, The Tutor’s Daughter, The Dancing Master, and The Secret of Pembrooke Park, one DVD of Northanger Abbey (2007) and a Jane Austen Action Figure.

To enter the giveaway contest, simply leave a comment on any or all of the blog stops on The Secret of Pembrooke Park Blog Tour starting February 16, 2015 through 11:59 pm PT, March 9, 2015. Winners will be drawn at random from all of the comments and announced on Julie Klassen’s website on March 16, 2015. Winners have until March 22, 2015 to claim their prize. The giveaway contest is open to residents of the US, UK, and Canada. Digital books will be sent through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Good luck to all!

THE SECRET OF PEMBROOKE PARK BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:

February 16               My Jane Austen Book Club (Guest Blog)

February 16               vvb32 Reads (Excerpt)                             

February 17               Psychotic State Book Reviews (Review)

February 17               My Kids Led Me Back to Pride and Prejudice (Spotlight)    

February 18               Addicted to Jane Austen (Review)                               

February 18               Peeking Between the Pages (Review)                                     

February 19               Jane Austen in Vermont (Interview)                                          

February 19               Living Read Girl (Review)                                                

February 20               My Love for Jane Austen (Excerpt)                                           

February 20               Truth, Beauty, Freedom & Books (Review)                            

February 20               Laura's Reviews (Guest Blog)                                         

February 21               A Bookish Way of Life (Review)                                    

February 21               Romantic Historical Reviews (Excerpt)                        

February 22               Reflections of a Book Addict (Review)                                    

February 23               Austenesque Reviews (Guest Blog)                                         

February 23               Peace, Love, Books (Review)                                        

February 24               vvb32 Reads (Review)                                         

February 24               Poof Books (Excerpt)

February 25               Babblings of a Bookworm (Review)                                         

February 25               Austenesque Reviews (Review)                                    

February 25               Luxury Reading (Review)

February 26               So Little Time…So Much to Read (Review)

February 26               More Agreeably Engaged (Excerpt)

February 27               Psychotic State Book Reviews (Interview)                              

February 27               Booktalk & More (Review)

February 28               Laughing with Lizzie (Spotlight)

February 28               The Calico Critic (Review)

March 01                    Leatherbound Reviews (Excerpt)                                              

March 01                    Delighted Reader (Review)

March 02                    CozyNookBks (Review)                                       

March 02                    Laura's Reviews (Review)                                    

Brighty's Special Gift - Winner

My independent adjudicator (husband!) has just drawn a name at random and the winner of the paperback copy of 'Brighty's Special Gift' is....

Rita!

Rita, I have sent you an email to request your mailing details.

Many thanks to those of you that expressed interest in this book. There is another chance to win this book at Most Agreeably Engaged, where you can enter the giveaway until Friday 27 February.

Thank you to Meryton Press for sponsoring the giveaway and Jakki at Leatherbound Reviews for letting me take part in the blog tour.

Brighty’s Special Gift by Dee Wallain - Review

There is still time to enter the international giveaway for a paperback of 'Brighty's Special Gift' from Meryton Press. To help tempt you to enter to win a copy for a child in your life, here is my review of the book, which I read with my junior bookworms, aged 8 and 5.

'Brighty’s Special Gift' is a Christian children’s book about a star, Brighty, who is different from the other stars. He has a different number of points and is brighter than them, and he is excluded by them as a result, which he finds very upsetting. No matter how hard Brighty tries, the other stars won’t accept his differences. God explains to Brighty that he is perfect as he is, and that all his suffering has made his light even stronger. Brighty learns to accept who he is, and in time, finds his place in the world.

There were a few topics that this book covered, and it provided a natural way to introduce discussion with children regarding these. We talked about people who are different, as Brighty is different, and also about bullying, how it makes people feel, whether they had witnessed anything like that or been a victim of it themselves, and how Brighty coped with being ostracised. I knew that this book was a Christian one before reading it, but in some books the theme can be stronger than others. In this book it’s a very strong theme, with God talking directly to Brighty. Although I’ve read Christmas books, and some other Bible stories with my children we wouldn’t generally read anything with such an overt Christian message. I wanted to make this aspect of the book clear because although it wasn't an issue for us, some people feel strongly about such messages, whether positively or negatively. There are some suggestions for learning activities to take the spiritual concepts further, which I thought was a useful feature.

There are lots of pictures in this book, which is something I like in a children's book, a full-colour illustration on every page to help keep the children’s interest. Appreciation of pictures is always subjective, but I didn’t like the pictures much as I prefer a more detailed style, particularly in the pictures that weren't of the stars. However, my children didn't mind them. One thing that I thought was good about the pictures is that they conveyed Brighty’s feelings as you could see expression on his face, which was useful for the discussions that we were having regarding the story.

The final verdict? My children really enjoyed the book and said they’d be happy to read it again. My 8 year old said that he didn’t anticipate the ending of the book, and that he liked that Brighty shone brighter even though that’s the reason why he wasn’t accepted, so even on a first reading, a message of being who you are and not bowing down to peer pressure was clearly understood. My 5 year old said that she wished that God had made Brighty darker so the other stars left him alone so the message hadn’t quite gone through, but we talked about it! I thought that it naturally led into an interesting conversation with my children, on a subject that can be hard to broach directly. We’d give this book 4 stars.

*Many thanks to Meryton Press for a review copy of this book, and to Jakki from Leatherbound Reviews for arranging the blog tour.

The Beresfords by Christina Dudley

You may have wondered where I've been lately. Well, I had a netball injury which left me in hospital! I'm home now, but mostly chair bound for the next few months. I'm not happy about that at all, as you can imagine, but at least I can still read. Here is a review that I wrote before I was hospitalised but didn't get the chance to share with you.

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Last year, to celebrate the bicentenary of ‘Mansfield Park’ I embarked on a Mansfield reading challenge and found that there were slim pickings. I read a few Mansfield Park inspired books but they were all young adult. ‘The Beresfords’ is an updated version of Mansfield Park set in the 1980s and although our main character, Frannie Price is 14 when it begins I wouldn’t categorise it as YA.

Frannie went to live with her Aunt Marie’s family at age 6. Frannie’s mum was a drug addict, and so had brushes with the law and social services and Frannie’s aunt by marriage, Aunt Terri (the Mrs Norris character) suggests to her brother, Paul (the Sir Thomas Bertram character) that it would be the morally upright thing to do to bring his wife’s niece to live with them. Paul has 4 children from his first marriage, Tom, followed by Jonathan (Edmund), Rachel (Maria) and Julie.  Marie, Frannie’s aunt, is their step-mother. Marie has been in the Beresford children’s lives for around 13 years when our story begins and the Beresford children’s birth mother isn’t that interested in them, so they see Marie as their mother. Marie is very indolent, in a vague, ineffectual way, and though she is fond of them, she doesn’t put herself out much for anybody at all, so the raising of the children has mostly been done by Paul Beresford’s sister, Theresa, aka Terri or Aunt Terror. The only person who actually sees her as a terror is 14 year old Frannie, who Aunt Terri is always finding jobs for, when she isn’t reminding Frannie how much she owes her relatives.

Frannie is an interesting character. She’s so awkward, gauche and crushingly shy. She utterly adores Jonathan, who is the only person in the family who actually seems to care for her at all or see her as a person. Her other step-cousins resented her from the first, finding her uneducated and slow compared to them. They are all older than her, she’d had limited education before she’d come to live with the Beresfords and they are all academically more able than her. Jonathan dreams of becoming a pastor, and has instilled a lot of his beliefs into Frannie. The rest of the family are regular churchgoers but they only attend church because their strict father insists on it, it’s all lip-service. Tom is wild, always sneaking out to drink, and he’s gone away to college, where he has a pretty good time. One day, he brings home some friends from college, twins Eric and Caroline Grant (the Crawford characters). They are sophisticated and irreverent, and the Beresfords are immediately attracted to them, probably because they are just so different.

‘We’d never heard conversation like this before, and you could see us all draw nearer, like neighboring stars being sucked into a black hole.’

From the sidelines, Frannie resentfully watches as Caroline Grant casts her spell over Frannie’s beloved Jonathan while Caroline’s brother Eric toys with the affections of both Rachel and Julie, despite the fact that Rachel has a boyfriend, star of the baseball team Greg. Since Frannie is so overlooked, she is rarely noticed, which gives her an opportunity to watch the whole group closely. Although she is naive she sees the manipulations and the charm offensive that the Grants are pulling on the Beresfords, and mistrusts them accordingly.

I think all of the modern updates of 'Mansfield Park' that I’ve read have been young adult reads, and although you can see the events of 'Mansfield Park' they’ve not been anywhere near as complex. This was very different in that respect, I felt that it was easily the most faithful update that I’ve read. Frannie was so similar to Fanny Price – overlooked, seen as lesser by her stepcousins (here lesser in age and intelligence rather than social status) and by virtue of them all being so self-absorbed she is completely overlooked. In some respects she is quite ignorant and she is quite black and white in her judgements of people, but with her view of the Grants unobstructed by any attention to her from them she is able to make shrewd judgement of their characters. The downside for me of Frannie being so close to Fanny is that it took me a long time to engage fully with the book. Frannie isn’t really an engaging character! In ‘Mansfield Park’ there is a third person narrator making wry observations and intelligent comments but here it’s all from Frannie’s narrow and naive point of view which wasn’t as engaging.  Frannie is also very isolated which for me didn’t work quite as well in a modern setting. In ‘Mansfield Park’ Fanny doesn’t have much choice of companions. Her cousins aren’t interested in her, Fanny isn’t out in society and she would have had very little opportunity to meet people of a suitable class. Frannie could have met a much wider range of people, and if she wasn’t able to find many friends in school, she had other opportunities through church. Frannie comes across as quite a cold individual which makes her a little less likeable than Fanny Price, who had far less chance to find people to care for. Also, I felt that Fanny’s main weakness, being overly judgemental and not taking into account people’s backgrounds, is a fault that Frannie shared but never really overcame.

As I mentioned above religion plays a part in this book which people may not be expecting in a modern update. However, in my opinion it’s entirely fitting; in ‘Mansfield Park’, Mary Crawford is aghast at the thought of Edmund becoming a clergyman, and the difference in their spiritual viewpoint would be sure to take some bridging and compromise, and here it’s no different. Frannie being raised in an environment where religious teachings are given prominence also helps account for her attitude, which by modern standards is quite conservative. Conversely, rebelling against their religious upbringing also explains some of Rachel and Tom’s behaviour, and the fact that they keep it so secret from their father.

Once I got past the first third or so of the book I was really gripped, and very impressed by how closely the relationship dynamics followed ‘Mansfield Park’. Frannie’s feelings were represented well, and I thought some of the things which may not have made sense in a modern update without tweaking were well-accounted for (such as Eric Grant suddenly noticing Frannie as an attractive girl – here it’s because he hasn’t seen her in a few years and she has changed quite a bit in that time and suddenly seems grown up to him). As I said, this is easily the most faithful update of Mansfield Park that I’ve read and what comes parcelled with that is that the cast of characters aren’t the most likeable you’ll find, though I felt differently to some of them compared to their characters in MP. Aunt Terri is always nipping away at Frannie but she’s not the horrible woman that Aunt Norris is, and I always had a soft spot for the Crawford that I didn’t find for Caroline Grant, though I still managed to find some pity for her brother! If you’re looking to read a modern update of 'Mansfield Park' I’d certainly recommend this one, and I’d rate it as 4½ stars.

To Refine Like Silver by Jeanna Ellsworth

When I saw there was a blog tour for this book I was quick to sign up for it, having read and enjoyed this author’s book Mr Darcy’s Promise and the story of Pride & Persistence when it was being posted online. However, I didn’t realise at that time that this book touches on some really dark issues, depression and sexual violence. Usually I would avoid at all costs reading a book that relates to sexual violence.  I know it happens, the world can be a sad and dark place but I don’t look for a realistic level of sadness in my reading, I read to escape that. Oscar Wilde once wrote: ‘The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.’ I think that's pretty true, and it’s one reason that I read fiction!  The last time I read any JAFF with sexual violence I only read the sample and I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it gave me nightmares. Roughly knowing subject matter I put off starting it, because I was worried I’d find it a heavy read. However, once I started reading this book and got into it I was glad that I’d signed up to review it, as I unexpectedly found it very uplifting to read and not a sad book, although sad things have happened.

The story begins in Derbyshire. It’s the summer of 1811 and Darcy hasn’t yet gone to Meryton. He is still at home, and incredibly worried about Georgiana who appears to have fallen into a deep melancholy, following the events of Ramsgate. Darcy goes to visit a new neighbour, a Mr Gardiner, whose wife has inherited an estate close to Pemberley. One of Mr Gardiner’s nieces, a Miss Elizabeth Bennet, is staying with the Gardiners while they adjust to estate ownership. Meeting Elizabeth under more favourable circumstances – in his own environment rather than in society he’s looking down on, and her family not around to cause any embarrassment, Darcy feels immediately attracted to her. Not so much her looks, but an unusual quality she has, almost like an inner brightness. Mr Gardiner invites Mr Darcy and his sister to dine with them that evening and Darcy accepts, hoping that Georgiana will feel able to attend. Meeting in this way starts off Darcy & Elizabeth’s relationship on a much better footing.

‘She found Mr. Darcy quite interesting. She was curious why he didn’t have a wife. He seemed kind and was fairly amiable. She did sense a certain amount of pride, but only because he was so focused on presenting himself well.’

What Darcy doesn’t realise is that Georgiana is in a much worse mental state than he knows. She is depressed and doesn’t care whether she lives or dies. In fact, her only outlet is horse riding, which she does recklessly, semi-hoping that she will have an accident that ends her unhappiness for good. However, Georgiana isn’t entirely unable to focus on anything other than the feelings that are crushing her and she recognises that Darcy has met somebody who could potentially be important to him. Making a huge effort, she goes to the Gardiners and Elizabeth immediately recognises the sad, lost look in Georgiana’s eyes. The reason that she recognises it is that Elizabeth was suffering a similar sadness, but she finally managed to come through it with the love of her father and Jane, and now she is desperate to help Georgiana do the same. She offers Georgiana friendship, and Darcy is only too happy to further the friendship as he is keen to do anything that will aid Georgiana’s recovery, particularly once he realises the depth of Georgiana’s despair.

In this variation, one of the changes is Mr Bennet’s background. He only inherited Longbourn about a decade before the events unfolding, having previously been a clergyman. Partly as a result of this, but mostly because of the trials Elizabeth has faced, Elizabeth’s faith is a big part of her life and there is a strong reliance on believing in God and relying on him, thanking him and following his lessons of forgiveness. This spiritual aspect is something I hadn’t seen in Austenesque stories before. I should imagine that some people would love it and others would be turned right off by it. I was on the fence, although I read Christian fiction (sometimes referred to as inspirational fiction) and I enjoy the positive messages of many of the books I’ve read in the genre, as indeed I enjoyed the positive messages found in this book. The spiritual aspect is very strong, and comes through in nearly all Elizabeth’s thoughts and conversations. In canon there is not much that Elizabeth said or did that was overtly religious so for me it led to a significant change in her character and it took me a while to get to know her.

One of the passages of the Bible that Elizabeth refers to when talking to Darcy talks about refining people as silver is refined, and she challenges him to find out what is special about the refining of silver. The refining of silver is a metaphor here. Usually, being a plain-spoken person who says what they mean, I am not a fan of metaphors, but when the process was described I found this metaphor quite profound and I thought it really underlined the themes of forgiveness and the reasons that we have trials to bear which are explored throughout the book.

I have a tendency to be distracted by stray details in a story and there were a few here, such as some words and turns of phrase which were too modern or American, a blacksmith who seemed too well-educated and some period details that didn’t seem quite right to me. I was also a little surprised by some of the behaviour exhibited by the Bennets. Elizabeth is quite over-familiar with the Darcys when they first meet, particularly with Georgiana, and it seemed unlikely behaviour to me, because she had been determined to make a good impression for her uncle’s sake. Also, since Mr Bennet is a former clergyman, and clearly a much more active father than in canon I would have expected Elizabeth’s younger siblings to be altered from the characters we know, since their upbringing would have been very different.

One thing that made this book really stand out for me is the way that Elizabeth helps Georgiana work through her depression. How your trials in life shape you and make you stronger, and that you need to make positive steps towards healing. Elizabeth keeps a notebook of inspirational quotes, (many of which are summarised in the back of the book). The thought that this book might be useful for people who have been touched by situational depression either by experiencing it themselves or trying to support a loved one, struck me many times.

I’ve had real difficulty trying to pin down in words my feelings towards this book but it’s one I’m glad I read, despite the difficult subject matter. I found it both uplifting and inspiring. I almost felt like a better person for having read it, even though I’m doubtful that I would be capable of the forgiveness the characters in this book bestow. Over time, some books merge into others in your mind, but this was so unlike other variations, that I’ve read that I’m sure I’ll remember it. I would recommend reading this book, as long as you do not object to a strong Christian message and I would rate it as 4½ stars.

Giveaway: Since I was later than planned posting this review, I've decided to extend the closing date of the giveaway from the author of To Refine Like Silver, of a paperback copy of the book to one winner, and some Fitzwilliam Darcy soap to another winner. Both are open to international entrants, and the giveaway will be closed for entries at the end of Wednesday 7 January. To enter, just leave a comment. If you comment on both this review, and on the original giveaway post then you will get an extra chance to win. If you have a preference for the soap or the book, please state it in your comment, or I'll assume you'd like either just as much, and please leave a way for me to contact you, such as email address, twitter handle etc. Again, many thanks to Jeanna Ellsworth for putting such lovely stuff up for grabs!

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

The Canterville Ghost is a short story by Oscar Wilde, full of his trademark wit with moments of underlying pathos and tragedy. The story begins with an American, Mr Hiram B. Otis, buying a house that the previous owner warns him is haunted. Sir Simon de Canterville murdered his wife around three hundred years ago, and since his death, his ghost has haunted the house. Mr Otis doesn’t heed the warning, stating:

“I reckon that if there was such a thing as a ghost in Europe, we’d have it at home in a very short time in one of our public museums, or on the road as a show.”

Mr Otis lives with his wife and four children. The eldest child is a young man:

“... christened Washington by his parents in a moment of patriotism, which he never ceased to regret.”

He is followed by a sister, Virginia, who is very sweet and kind, and the youngest members of the family are tearaway twin boys.

The Ghost is extremely proud of his track record. The servants are all terrified of him and he has literally scared people to death, driven them mad or caused them to commit suicide. So when this new family moves in he anticipates their fear. The first evidence the family sees of the ghost’s existence is a bloodstain in the spot where he killed his wife. They are told by their housekeeper that if cleaned away the bloodstain returns, but they react to this differently than he’d expected:

“The blood stain has been much admired by tourists and others, and cannot be removed.”
“That is all nonsense,” cried Washington Otis. “Pinkerton’s Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent will clean it up in no time.”

Undaunted, the Ghost decides to scare Mr Otis, by clanking his chains in the middle of the night:

“My dear sir,” said Mr Otis. “I really must insist on your oiling those chains, and have bought you for that purpose a small bottle of the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator. It is said to be completely efficacious upon one application, and there are several testimonials to that effect on the wrapper from some of our most eminent native divines.”

The Ghost then attempts to scare the twins and has the indignity of having a pillow thrown at him, which deeply offends him!

“Never, in a brilliant and uninterrupted career of three hundred years, had he been so grossly insulted”

He begins to plot his revenge on the family, but gets increasingly frustrated when they refuse to be frightened by him. But then the mood of the story changes, and we find that the ghost has been unable to rest since his death.

“Death must be so beautiful... To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace.”

I had read quite a few of the works of Oscar Wilde but this one had passed me by until recently when it was part of an online course I’ve been doing. I really enjoy Wilde’s facetious humour, and this was no exception, I was chortling away, regardless of the fact that I was reading it in public! I was surprised when the mood of the piece changed, it completely changes tone within a few paragraphs, and becomes almost spiritual, it gave me shivers and almost wrung a tear or two out of me, but as I said I was in public, so any tears were sternly repressed. It’s a pretty short read, took less than 30 minutes, and I’d recommend it, I really enjoyed it. Another bonus is that you can download it free!

A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer

Earlier this year I read the first two books in the Archer brothers series, Short Straw Bride and Stealing the Preacher, and I loved them both! There is only one unmarried Archer brother remaining, the baby of the family, Neill Archer, so I was both pleased to see that his story was available, and sad that it was only a novella length story.

Neill is sick of being seen as a boy by his brothers – he’s 28 years old now and he’s planning on setting up a place of his own, in partnership with his friend Josiah.  While Josiah stays at home and works there Neill is travelling from place to place getting what work he can. He arrives in a new town and makes it known that he’s looking for work. He finds a note asking him to replace the roof for Mrs Danvers, a widow. He envisions a poor, defenceless old lady, and when he sees the rickety shack she’s living in, he is indignant on her behalf.

However Clara Danvers is not what he’d imagined. She’s a mere 20 years old, heavily pregnant, extremely unfriendly and the most exotic beauty Neill has ever set eyes on.  The attraction between them is mutual, but Clara has been hurt before so she’s not interested in finding herself a man.

This man’s eyes were warm and honest. Kind. And they had lovely green flecks that added a sparkle to the brown depths.
Clara took a step back. No need to look that close. He was a workman, nothing else.

The only thing Clara is focused on is preventing her father in law from stealing her baby when it’s born. For this she needs to keep her guard up at all times for a physical attack or kidnap, and she also needs to make sure she doesn’t set a foot wrong, as her father in law is seen as a pillar of the community. So she needs her shack to be in good condition. She’s done what she could to maintain it, but she has limited materials and tools and she physically can’t manage to fix the roof. Clara is of Comanche blood, so a lot of the townsfolk are wary of her, she has no family, now no husband, and no friends, aside from the anonymous benefactor who sent Neill to her.

Reluctantly Clara accepts Neill’s help, and despite herself she begins to warm to him, telling him the sad tale of how she ended up alone and the wife of a man who married her for really hurtful reasons.  She isn’t filled with self pity, though; Clara is just getting on with things, and focusing on protecting her baby

Clara Danvers was no fragile flower. She was a coyote who’d learned to scrape and scavenge and protect what was hers.

Neill is desperate to protect Clara, both out of compassion to keep her and her baby together, and also because he’s decided he wants to marry her. Aside from the fact that he can see she is full of admirable qualities and beauty there is also something else drawing him to her:

No one had ever needed him before, not to this extent. The youngest of four brothers, he’d always been included yet never felt truly essential. Until today. Clara needed him.

Although I really enjoyed this story, I couldn’t help but feel that it was just too short. The relationship between them developed too quickly. In one respect, this made sense because there was a limit to how many days he could stretch out working on her house, and since she was heavily pregnant there was a timescale there too, but I think the story really could have benefited from being longer. The story only covers a short timescale but I would have liked more detail, for example, there is a 2 day journey which is described in just a few pages, when I would have liked to see their relationship building. I also felt the pacing was uneven; it starts out at a moderate speed then gets faster. In common with the other Archer books this book has Christian themes, but they are not explored in great depth.

We see the other Archer brothers too, but unfortunately only very briefly. I’d really recommend reading this book, both to find out what happens to Neill and because even though I felt it was too short, it’s still a really good story!

You can buy this story on its own as a novella (but be warned, there is a sample at the end, meaning you get a gaaaaaaah! moment when you reach 58% and the story is over!), or as part of an anthology called A Match Made in Texas which also has stories from other authors.

Moonlight Masquerade by Ruth Axtell

This is a Christian historical romance, set in 1813. Rees Phillips is working in London for the Home Office. He’s posing as Lady Wexham’s butler under a pseudonym, trying to discover if she is a spy for Napoleon. Lady Wexham is a young widow of a much older husband, who she married at her mother’s behest. She is a French émigré and she is, in fact, spying for Napoleon. Her reason for supporting him is partly that she sees Napoleon as a better leader for France’s future than the alternative of restoring the royal family and partly because her life feels quite empty.

Lady Wexham and Rees have a mutual attraction very early on. Lady Wexham’s maid, Valentine, is suspicious of Rees and tells her employer. Both Lady Wexham and Rees are hoping against hope that the other isn’t a spy, but as time goes on each becomes convinced that their fears are true. 

‘Why was there this yearning in her heart for something genuine and honest from him?’

From Lady Wexham’s point of view, although she doesn’t view Rees in the same way as she views her other servants, because she knows he isn’t one, she has quite an egalitarian view of others, so that’s less of an issue for her.  However, if he finds out the truth about her she could hang.

Rees is even more conflicted; he is tempted to put his growing allegiance for Lady Wexham before his allegiance to his country and he knows that she is very far above him socially. 

‘The woman fascinated him more than ever.  What other highborn lady would spend an hour talking with a servant? Was it because she was indeed a French Republican, seeing no class difference between the two – or was it that she knew he was no butler? More likely the latter.’

In addition to this, his faith is very important to him and he is unsure of how virtuous Lady Wexham is - he knows that she doesn’t attend church, but he doesn’t know whether she has taken lovers. This is not something that Rees would be able to overlook.

As time goes on, Rees realises that Lady Wexham is in danger from another source and his attempts to protect her brings them closer together.  He comes to understand some of her political views and she tries to reconcile her idea of the God that she feels abandoned by with Rees’s view of a loving, guiding God. Both of them know that there can’t be any future together...

 ‘They were enemies. Repeating the facts did nothing to strengthen his commitment. It only filled his soul with a bleak desolation as he watched her perform the steps of a minuet.’

I thought this was an interesting premise for a story, and it highlighted parts of history that I was ignorant of previously, such as the fact that there was a court of French royalists in Buckinghamshire. Obviously since Rees was working as a butler his movements would be constrained by the demands and the limits of acting in that role, but I felt that the author worked hard to make any deviations from the role of the butler as plausible as possible, such as Rees accompanying Lady Wexham on her visit to Hartwell House, which you wouldn’t expect a butler to do.

I loved the romance between Lady Wexham and Rees.  It was so restrained because of all the barriers between them, neither of them is even sure that the romance isn’t just one-sided, so it’s all glances and internal emotions, which was wonderful. 

‘Perhaps the only words that could be communicated to each other were to be silent ones.’

This is a Christian book, which you wouldn’t really notice for a while. I am new to reading Christian fiction but I am not sure how well Rees’s faith fitted with the job he was doing and although this is mentioned I felt he seemed a bit blasé about this conflict, which in some respects didn’t fit with his character when you consider how he angsted about how good a Christian Lady Wexham was. Rees asked God for guidance and support more and more as the story progressed, and so the Christian aspect of the story increased as time went on.

The only real issue I had with this book was that to me, it felt more modern than the period.  Things like the language used – not just individual words that were out of place, but the feel and flow of the sentences felt distinctly too modern to me.  Also, some of the behaviour I am not sure was in keeping with the times, such as the familiarity between Jessamine and Rees, the fact that he was writing to her to me implies a commitment towards her that doesn’t seem to be the case.  I also felt that the pacing of the storytelling really sped up at the end and it seemed a little rushed to me, and there were obstacles to overcome at the end which added little to the story while some real obstacles were glossed over. However, I enjoyed this book and I’d recommend it.