The Medici Boy by John L'Heureux

The Medici Boy
Author:  John L'Heureux
Published:  April 2014
Publisher:  Astor+ Blue Editions LLC
Pages:  336
ISBN:  9781938231506

The worlds of art, politics and passion collide in John L’Heureux’s masterful new novel, The Medici Boy. With rich composition, L’Heureux ingeniously transports the reader to Donatello’s Renaissance Italy—directly into his bottega, (workshop), as witnessed through the eyes of Luca Mattei, a devoted assistant. While creating his famous bronze of David and Goliath, Donatello’s passion for his enormously beautiful model and part time rent boy, Agnolo, ignites a dangerous jealousy that ultimately leads to Agnolo’s brutal murder. Luca, the complex and conflicted assistant, will sacrifice all to save the life of Donatello, even if it means the life of the master sculptor’s friend and great patron of art, Cosimo de’ Medici. John L’Heureux’s long-awaited novel delivers both a monumental and intimate narrative of the creative genius, Donatello, at the height of his powers. With incisive detail, L’Heureux beautifully renders the master sculptor’s forbidden homosexual passions, and the artistry that enthralled the powerful and highly competitive Medici and Albizzi families. The finished work is a sumptuously detailed historical novel that entertains while it delves deeply into both the sacred and the profane within one of the Italian Renaissance’s most consequential cities, fifteenth century Florence.

Donatello: Art, Pain, Passion, Murder

Renowned Literary Writer Renders Controversial Life of

Mysterious Renaissance Genius

My thoughts

Thoroughly researched, The Medici Boy is a historical fiction novel ideally suited for the art connoisseur and/or a history buff.  This novel takes place in renaissance Italy and is told through the voice of young Luca Mattei.  His relationship with Donatello goes beyond that of a mere assistant as he watches the sculptor carve and create masterpieces.  Another side of Donatello is visited as well as his forbidden passions are brought to light.  Jealousy and conflict arise and Luca finds he would sacrifice anything, even another's life, for Donatello; such is his loyalty.

Donatello's sculpture of David

I was excited to read about Italy in the renaissance ages, of the incredible art of that time, and of Donatello.  I could imagine the architecture, the land, the people and this was appealing to me as a reader.  

Donatello was commissioned by Cosimo De'Medici to sculpt a statue of David, as in David and Goliath of the bible.  In 1430, Donatello completed a life-size nude depicting a triumphant David after battle.  He called the piece "Triumphant David."

The author, Mr. LH'eureux, upon visiting Italy and seeing the statue of David,  thought that someone must write the story behind the sculpture and of the artist Donatello.  That someone turned out to be him.  Mr. LH'eureux wrote this novel based upon the assumption of Donatello's homosexuality,  using historical research to help support this possibility, drawing upon the fact that during this period in time and in the city of Florence this was punishable by death.  

The beginning of this novel was challenging for me to really immerse myself in.  I found it difficult to build a reader/character relationship but it may be just me.  However, if you love art history and want to know more about the master sculptor/artist Donatello, look for The Medici Boy because beneath this fictionalized plot, lies a glimpse into the life and time of one of the undoubtedly most famous and gifted of artists. 

Meet the author

Award-winning poet, novelist, and short story writer, John L’Heureux has taught at Georgetown University, Tufts, Harvard, and (for more than 35 years) in the English Department of Stanford University where he was Lane Professor of Humanities.  There he received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and earned it again in 1998.

A prolific writer, L’Heureux has written more than twenty books of fiction, short fiction and poetry.  His works have appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Harper’s, The New Yorker, and have been included in dozens of anthologies including Best American Storiesand Prize Stories: the O. Henry Awards.

John L’Heureux has twice received writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2006 he was awarded a Guggenheim Grant to do research for The Medici Boy, his new novel.  

He is retired and lives in Palo Alto with his wife Joan.

The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

The Care and Management of Lies
Author:  Jacqueline Winspear
Publication Date:  July 2014
Publisher:
Pages:
Source:  a complimentary copy was provided by the publisher and TLC book tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

The New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs series turns her prodigious talents to this World War I standalone novel, a lyrical drama of love struggling to survive in a damaged, fractured world.

By July 1914, the ties between Kezia Marchant and Thea Brissenden, friends since girlhood, have become strained—by Thea’s passionate embrace of women’s suffrage, and by the imminent marriage of Kezia to Thea’s brother, Tom, who runs the family farm. When Kezia and Tom wed just a month before war is declared between Britain and Germany, Thea’s gift to Kezia is a book on household management—a veiled criticism of the bride’s prosaic life to come. Yet when Tom enlists to fight for his country and Thea is drawn reluctantly onto the battlefield, the farm becomes Kezia’s responsibility. Each must find a way to endure the ensuing cataclysm and turmoil.

As Tom marches to the front lines, and Kezia battles to keep her ordered life from unraveling, they hide their despair in letters and cards filled with stories woven to bring comfort. Even Tom’s fellow soldiers in the trenches enter and find solace in the dream world of Kezia’s mouth-watering, albeit imaginary meals. But will well-intended lies and self-deception be of use when they come face to face with the enemy?

Published to coincide with the centennial of the Great War, The Care and Management of Lies paints a poignant picture of love and friendship strained by the pain of separation and the brutal chaos of battle. Ultimately, it raises profound questions about conflict, belief, and love that echo in our own time.

My Thoughts:

I noticed that the author's name took top billing on this new historical fiction scheduled for release next month.  Her name will sell this book!  Jacqueline Winspear is the well-known best-selling author of the Maisie Dobbs mystery series.

Jacqueline Winspear has long wanted to write a novel set during the time of war.  The Care and Management of Lies brings that desire to fruition.  On the author's website you may read her letter to her readers about the inspiration for The Care and Management of Lies. (see the link included with the links below.)

100 years ago the First World War commenced and there have been and will be several memorials in honour of those who fought, survived, or gave their lives in the cause.  It was the first war, according to Winston Churchill, wherein man realized he could completely obliterate himself. This leaves an enormous impression upon this generation of today.

On this theme, the author transports the reader to a tumultuous time that had long term effect for good and bad on so many.  Kezia, Thea and Tom provide a viewpoint for the reader from their perspectives as Tom is enlisted leaving behind his new young wife Kezia.  Their letters of love during their separation share the longings, fears, and trials.  They are in turn heart-wrenching and touching.

Thea, Tom's sister and Kezia's best friend, becomes an ambulance driver on the war torn fields.  What she sees will surely haunt her for years to come.  This is also a time when women were found doing the work of men, as was Thea; and, at home, Kezia in charge of the farm. It was a burdensome task with little labour and shortage of food.  Kezia's letters embellished the situation as she wrote of meals one could only dream of.  It was her way of assuring her husband he need not worry about her but focus on coming home alive.  Little did she know, those letters would buoy up the spirits of the troupe of soldiers Tom would serve with as well. Little lies to assuage the soul.

Each of the three protagonists face tremendous trials and through the pages we see their growth.  The little secrets they keep to themselves are rather selfless in that they are done to protect those they love.  You can't help but admire the lengths to which each will go to offer that protection.

The Care and Management of Lies is rather slow to get going with a lot of detail about the period in which the story takes place.  It serves a purpose in setting the scene, allowing the reader to visualize the land and the times.  The narrative too, though, is rather slow-paced compared with what I usually read.  That said, Jacqueline Winspear tells herein a haunting tale of the horrors of war with a deft hand and sympathetic heart.  You won't soon forget the impact she leaves.

PS to Maisie Dobbs fans, she will reappear in a new series the spring of 2015!

 Goodreads. Purchase links are: Amazon, IndieBound, Barnes & Noble. 

author's website and Facebook page.  http://thecareandmanagementoflies.com/camol-welcome.php

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels featuring Maisie Dobbs, a former World War I nurse turned investigator. Originally from the United Kingdom, Winspear now lives in California. Find out more about Jacqueline at her website, www.jacquelinewinspear.com, and find her on Facebook.

Review: A Talent for Trouble by Jen Turano

A Talent for Trouble

Author:  Jen Turano

Published:  October 2013

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Pages:  352

Genre:  Historical fiction, Christian fiction

Source:  a complimentary copy was provided by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.  Receipt thereof has no influence over this review nor my opinion.

For years, Miss Felicia Murdock’s every thought and action have been in pursuit of becoming a minister’s wife. When the minister she’d set her sights on has other ideas, she decides something in her life needs to change–and soon–before she wastes any more time pretending to be someone she’s not. If that means spreading her wings and embracing a more lively way of life, who’s to say nay?

Grayson Sumner, Lord Sefton, has had more than enough of spreading his wings and only hopes to settle into the life of a respectable New York gentleman. Prompted by some friends to lift the spirits of the disappointed-in-love Miss Murdock, he is surprised to encounter an adventurous young lady with an unfortunate knack for stumbling into troublesome situations.

Just as Grayson decides he’s had quite enough of her antics, his past comes back to haunt him and his presence in Felicia’s life endangers her. As they work together to extricate themselves from this latest complication, will Grayson and Felicia decide they want to spend the rest of their lives keeping one another out of trouble?

Download an excerpt HERE.

My thoughts:

Felicia Murdock is a compassionate woman.  She gives to the poor and needy, food, clothing, kindness and her time.  She dresses in big dresses with bows and other adornments, not quite the fashion of the times but it suits her needs, temporarily, at least until the man she has set her heart upon, the local reverend, marries.  Felicia is rather devastated after four years of trying and failing to get the reverend to notice her.  

"Delightful" is no longer enough for her so she donates her old frocks and begins to dress in a manner of the times that reveals her true nature.  Felicia Murdock, at 24 is single, beautiful, adventurous, and has a penchant for trouble.  Wherever she goes, it finds her without much effort.  Her well-meaning efforts causing the need for interventions in the form of Grayson Sumner.

Grayson Sumner has a history of which he is ashamed and though he'd love to get to know Felicia better, doing so could put her in terrible danger and he has already had, on more than one occasion, to rescue her from herself.  But just being close to her is dangerous for him and for her. Though he tries to distance himself, inevitably they are drawn to each other.

A Talent for Trouble is a fun bit of a page turner with a protagonist who is feisty and funny; her wit causing more than a smirk, her adventures often evoking a chuckle from the reader.  This story transpires in a time when horse-drawn carriages occupied the streets, ladies dressed in beautiful gowns and men in suits and balls were a highly anticipated social experience.  On a more serious note, it is also a time when it's difficult to be Chinese in a western world, and opium dens occupy the seedier parts of town. Jen Turano manages to include all these factors within a flowing plot in which the balance of serious issues, the courting scene and lighthearted humour appropriately intermingle with a dramatic climax.

Meet the author: 

Jen Turano, author of A Change of Fortune, A Most Peculiar Circumstance, and A Talent for Trouble, is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in Clothing and Textiles. She is a member of ACFW and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado.

Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.

Review: Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman

Freud's Mistress
Authors: Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman
Published:  July 2013
Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
Pages: 368
Format:  Hardcover

Source:  A copy was provided by the publisher and TLC book tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.  Receipt thereof did not influence my opinion nor this review.

A page-turning novel inspired by the true-life love affair between Sigmund Freud and his sister-in-law, Minna Bernays, set in Vienna in 1895. Minna is everything her sister Martha is not—intellectually curious, an avid reader and a beguiling beauty. She and Freud embark on what is at first simply an intellectual courtship, yet something deeper is brewing beneath the surface, something Minna cannot escape.

In this sweeping tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal—between a husband and a wife, between sisters—fact and fiction seamlessly blend together to offer an intimate peek at Minna’s profound influence on the founding father of psychoanalysis, while revealing her unforgettable story of internal conflict and passion.

My Review:

A friend and I were recently discussing geniuses and the fact that so many of them are intellectual snobs.  When I look at Sigmund Freud's life as illustrated in Freud's Mistress, I see a similar pattern of behaviour.  He pays little attention to Martha, his wife; nor to his children, of which he has six.  But when Martha's sister Minna, joins the household, Freud recognizes an individual with whom he can and does willingly discuss his theories and work.  She is not his intellectual equal, which is obvious from the way he treats her in the novel; but she seems to be far more interested and interesting and she is near at hand.

What begins as an intellectual affair of sorts, soon develops into something more and it is little wonder that it does.  When two people of opposite sex share so much, the next stage of the relationship can easily become much more personal.  Mack and Kaufman draw upon this likelihood, acknowledging the hotel ledger in which the couple signed in as a married couple, and the reader is privy to what may have been the internal machinations of forbidden attraction.

It is theorized that this relationship between Sigmund and Minna influenced Freud's advancement in psychology.  Certainly, with Martha under the influence of opiates and overwhelmed with the task of running a busy household with six children, it seems she couldn't be bothered with listening to Sigmund's theories.  Perhaps she was even glad to find relief in knowing her sister had taken the place of a sounding board.  However, I cannot fathom her being accepting of an intimate relationship between her husband and her sister.  

Mack and Kaufman exercise some literary liberties in conveying the personalities and situations within Freud's life but they do so with significant research to back up their theories.  

For the lover of historical fiction, fascinators of great intellectual biographies, and those interested in theories of psychology; this novel may be just the book you are looking for.

About the Authors:

Freud’s Mistress is the third novel by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman. Their first novel, Literacy and Longing in L.A., reached #1 on the Los Angeles TimesBestseller List and won the Best Fiction Award from the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association. Their second novel, A Version of the Truth, was also a Los Angeles Times bestseller. Freud’s Mistress is their first historical novel. Karen Mack, a former attorney, is a Golden Globe Award-winning film and television producer. Jennifer Kaufman is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and a two-time winner of the national Penney-Missouri Journalism Award. Both authors live in Los Angeles with their families.

Find out more about Karen and Jennifer at their website, and connect with them on Facebook.

The Passing Bells, Circles of Time and A Future Arrived: A Trilogy (Grevilles of Abingdon Pryory) by Philip Rock (TLC Book Tour - book review)

The Passing Bells
Author:  Phillip Rock
Published:  December 2012
Publisher:  William Morrow Paperbacks (reissue edition)
Pages:  544

The guns of August are rumbling throughout Europe in the summer of 1914, but war has not yet touched Abingdon Pryory. Here, at the grand home of the Greville family, the parties, dances, and romances play on. Alexandra Greville embarks on her debutante season while brother Charles remains hopelessly in love with the beautiful, untitled Lydia Foxe, knowing that his father, the Earl of Stanmore, will never approve of the match. Downstairs the new servant, Ivy, struggles to adjust to the routines of the well-oiled household staff, as the arrival of American cousin Martin Rilke, a Chicago newspaperman, causes a stir.

But, ultimately, the Great War will not be denied, as what begins for the high-bred Grevilles as a glorious adventure soon takes its toll—shattering the household’s tranquillity, crumbling class barriers, and bringing its myriad horrors home.

Circles of Time
Author:  Phillip Rock
Published:  January 2013
Publisher:  William Morrow Paperbacks (reissue edition)
Pages: 448

A generation has been lost on the Western Front. The dead have been buried, a harsh peace forged, and the howl of shells replaced by the wail of saxophones as the Jazz Age begins. But ghosts linger—that long-ago golden summer of 1914 tugging at the memory of Martin Rilke and his British cousins, the Grevilles.

From the countess to the chauffeur, the inhabitants of Abingdon Pryory seek to forget the past and adjust their lives to a new era in which old values, social codes, and sexual mores have been irretrievably swept away. Martin Rilke throws himself into reporting, discovering unsettling political currents, as Fenton Wood-Lacy faces exile in faraway army outposts. Back at Abingdon, Charles Greville shows signs of recovery from shell shock and Alexandra is caught up in an unlikely romance.Circles of Time captures the age as these strongly drawn characters experience it, unfolding against England’s most gracious manor house, the steamy nightclubs of London’s Soho, and the despair of Germany caught in the nightmare of anarchy and inflation. Lives are renewed, new loves found, and a future of peace and happiness is glimpsed—for the moment.

A Future Arrived
Author:  Phillip Rock
Published: February 2013
Publisher:  William Morrow Paperbacks (reissue edition)
Pages: 480

The final installment of the saga of the Grevilles of Abingdon Pryory begins in the early 1930s, as the dizzy gaiety of the Jazz Age comes to a shattering end. What follows is a decade of change and uncertainty, as the younger generation, born during or just after the “war to end all wars,” comes of age.

American writer Martin Rilke has made his journalistic mark, earning worldwide fame with his radio broadcasts, and young Albert Thaxton seeks to follow in his footsteps as a foreign correspondent. Derek Ramsey, born only weeks after his father fell in France, and Colin Ross, a dashing Yankee, leave their schoolboy days behind and enter fighter pilot training as young men. The beautiful Wood-Lacy twins, Jennifer and Victoria, and their passionate younger sister, Kate, strive to forge independent paths, while learning to love—and to let go.

In their heady youth and bittersweet growth to adulthood, they are the future—but the shadows that touched the lives of the generation before are destined to reach out to their own.

My thoughts:

The trilogy:   Each book is lengthy with descriptive narrative that, if I were in the right state of mind, I would readily enjoy, but am finding it rather tedious.  The war scenes, which are at least one half of the first book, are interesting but go on far longer than I wanted to read of such. For me, the story on a whole is interesting and worth the read, but is has unenjoyable parts to it. The war, being the unenjoyable parts to the trilogy. 

Passing Bells is the first in the series and opens with a view of the British countryside, unspoiled and open ... beautiful.  We are introduced to the servants of the household, the proprietor and his family and a young cousin, a stranger in fact, who is welcomed to the family and society in Britain.  My favourite characters, the cousin Martin (the American journalist who comes to visit family but stays to cover the war) and Ivy (a young girl, the eldest in her family, working as a maid) are the most down to earth and most relatable.  The time spent on developing their characters, and their very personalities, endear them to the reader and we hope for a future for the two of them together.  When the war is announced and families separated as the young men head off to battle with Martin covering it from a journalist perspective, I found the story to be less people oriented and I began to lose interest as the lengthy battle consumed the pages.  (I guess I am just not so much of a reader of wars.)

Circle of Time presents the aftermath of World War I.  The carnage and debilitation of society in the wake of the war is evident as Philip Rock presents a birds eye view of a life post war, the tragic loss, the crushed soul of young Charles as he remains in an amnesiac state upon his return from the war.  There is so much loss and grief, particularly for Martin who, in the first chapter, bids a last farewell to Ivy, his deceased wife, and yet there is a hope.  Hope for a new beginning, for a return to life in a new land so to speak.  Not much remains the same, and it shouldn't.

A Future Arrived reminisces of the glory of Britain and society pre-war while recognizing an enormous change.  It is now the story of a new generation with a foreboding view of another war, perhaps the most tragic in history.  Adolf Hitler comes upon the scene and with him the knowledge that the war of the world of the previous generation may fail to compare with the plans for domination under a terrifying leader.  

For the lover of history, particularly war, these novels will breathe life into the very stories of old.  Of the fight for freedom, for land and man...this is evidenced herein as Philip Rock puts a face upon the era of the early 1900s-1940s.  While a comparison has been made between Downton Abbey and this trilogy, Philip Rock's novels share the perspective of the upper class while Downton Abbey shares the time period from the point of view of the "help."  We see an era where the lines of upper crust blur with the rest of society.  All suffer great loss and grief.  No man is untouched.  Herein lies a great truth.  We are all only people, we are born, we grieve, we have joy and we have loss.  Trials don't pick and choose.  Each one of us, to varying degrees, experiences love, joy, hope and sorrow.  This trilogy is such a story.

Visit other book bloggers on tour here.

Gemma's Journey Gives Her Wings and Grounds Her in The Flight of Gemma Hardy

The Flight of Gemma Hardy
Author:  Margot Livesey
Published:   2012 (this edition)
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Pages:  443 (not including acknowledgments, About the Author, About the Book, Read On)

Source:  A complimentary copy was provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.  The opinion expressed here is my own.

"Taken from her native Iceland to Scotland in the early 1950s when her widower father drowns at sea, young Gemma Hardy comes to live with her kindly uncle and his family. But his death leaves Gemma under the care of her resentful aunt, and she suddenly finds herself an unwelcome guest. Surviving oppressive years at a strict private school, Gemma ultimately finds a job as an au pair to the eight-year-old niece of Mr. Sinclair on the Orkney Islands—and here, at the mysterious and remote Blackbird Hall, Gemma’s greatest trial begins.

A captivating homage to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, The Flight of Gemma Hardy is a sweeping saga that resurrects the timeless themes of the original, but is destined to become a classic all its own." (TLC Book Tours)

My Thoughts:

At first when I discovered The Flight of Gemma Hardy was very much like Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, I was intrigued.  In fact, that is the reason I wanted to read this novel.  Then, as I started reading, it seemed to me to be unoriginal...just a modern re-telling of a beloved classic tale.  I was impatient at chapter 10, wanting some originality.  Well, I got it!!

Though the origins of the tale, that of an orphan taken in by her uncle and then left to be raised in a house of hatred following his death, is almost a mirror image of Jane Eyre's story, Margot Livesey soon proved that she could spin a tale from modest beginnings and take it on a journey similar to the original and yet quite different.  You could liken The Flight of Gemma Hardy to Jane Eyre, but while Jane comes off as pure and righteous, Gemma Hardy takes actions that Jane would have frowned upon. Knowing that the actions she takes hurt people she cares about, they serve an ultimate purpose for Gemma and she carries through because she sees no other way.  It is, she believes, her only chance for true discovery.

While her traits are less admirable than her predecessor, the reader cannot help but relate to this young woman with spunk and an unyielding spirit.  To see this young Gemma rise above her circumstance, to accomplish her goals and to come to terms with her life and with herself, is what all of us wish to do.  In Gemma we see ourselves, not perhaps as we'd like to, but perhaps as we would be should we be found in similar circumstance.

In no other hands, would this tale of Gemma Hardy, which is likened unto a modern Jane Eyre, be given justice.  Margot Livesey's writing is fluid, full of emotion and vivid in its portrayals.  In summary, I loved The Flight of Gemma Hardy!  If you are a Jane Eyre fan, give The Flight of Gemma Hardy a place in your life.  The likeness will draw you in and the story will take you away.

Margot Livesey is the acclaimed author of the novels The House on Fortune Street, Banishing Verona, Eva Moves the Furniture, The Missing World, Criminals, and Homework. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Vogue, and The Atlantic, and she is the recipient of grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. The House on Fortune Street won the 2009 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award. Livesey was born in Scotland and grew up on the edge of the Highlands. She lives in the Boston area and is a distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

Clara and Mr. Tiffany
Author:  Susan Vreeland
Published: 2011 Trade Paperback
Publisher:  Random House Trade Paperback
Pages: 448
Genre:  General Fiction, Historical Fiction
Paperback Release with book discussion notes:  March 2012

This edition includes an afterward that details the history of Tiffany's and the lives of those involved; acknowledgments; Clara and Mr Tiffany:  a Reader's Guide including A Conversation With Susan Vreeland and Her Editor, Jane Von Mehren; Questions and Topics for Discussion

ISBN 9780812980189

Source:  a copy was provided by TLC book tours for the purpose of this review.  My thoughts and opinions are mine alone and were uninfluenced by receipt of a complimentary copy of Clara and Mr. Tiffany.

It’s 1893, and at the Chicago World’s Fair, Louis Comfort Tiffany makes his debut with a luminous exhibition of innovative stained-glass windows that he hopes will earn him a place on the international artistic stage. But behind the scenes in his New York studio is the freethinking Clara Driscoll, head of his women’s division, who conceives of and designs nearly all of the iconic leaded-glass lamps for which Tiffany will long be remembered.  Never publicly acknowledged, Clara struggles with her desire for artistic recognition and the seemingly insurmountable challenges that she faces as a professional woman.  She also yearns for love and companionship, and is devoted in different ways to five men, including Tiffany, who enforces a strict policy: He does not employ married women.  Ultimately, Clara must decide what makes her happiest-the professional world of her hands or the personal world of her heart.

Peacock window panels

"Beauty is what Nature has lavished upon us as a Supreme Gift" ~ Louis Comfort Tiffany.  This is quoted at the front of the novel, Clara and Mr. Tiffany, and is the source of Tiffany's inspiration.  As he appreciated the subtle beauties of nature, the lines and contours, and varying shades thereof; Louis Comfort Tiffany sought to portray the same in his glasswork. His love of nature was shared by Clara Driscoll who headed up the women's division of Tiffany's cartooning and cutting the images in glass and assembling them to make the most beautiful stained glass windows.  As artistic freedom was allowed her, Clara came up with the concept and designed, with Mr. Tiffany's input in some cases, exquisite lamp shades and bases.  This should have been credited to her, but rarely was the work and creative artistry of another recognized publicly at Tiffany's.  

It was Clara's desire and, perhaps her folly, to receive recognition for the work she performed at Tiffany's.  When her lamps went to the fairs and received prizes, the recognition was for Tiffany's, not her; which really irked her.  At times, this desire consumed her thoughts and influenced her actions but as time passed, Clara's focus expanded beyond herself, making her a far more likeable protagonist. 

Clara is a multi-faceted personality whom I enjoyed watching grow throughout the novel.  The more involved she became in others' lives, the less self-focused she became, which is true of service, however rendered.  She became a leader among women, fighting for women's rights in the workplace, and she was beloved by those she worked with for her courage in facing the little and the big obstacles, assisting those with whom she worked as a trusted soul who cared enough to enter the less-fortunate areas of New York City, and to enter the tenements to help others.

Clara and Mr. Tiffany is a story with wide appeal.  For the history buff, the lover of art, a supporter of feminism, a fan of love stories, triumph over trials....it's all here.  Susan has fleshed out each character and the ensuing relationships, allowing the individuals to live and breathe as vividly as if the reader knew them personally. Were it not for the artistic license Susan Vreeland necessarily took to develop the storyline due to lack of records, this could very well be a biography of Clara, the creative mind behind the Tiffany lamps. 

Note:  Historical accuracy is paramount in Clara and Mr. Tiffany.  Susan Vreeland explores the world of Tiffany's via letters kept and written by Clara over her years at Tiffany's.  Records otherwise are not available, but extensive research by the author gives authenticity to Clara and Mr. Tiffany.  The author learned the art of stained glass, travelled to New York for research and attended several exhibits showcasing Tiffany's glass and lamps.   

Thank you to TLC book tours and Random House Publications for a complimentary copy of what is now one of my favourite reads of 2012!

Meet the author:

Susan Vreeland is the bestselling author of five books, including Luncheon of the Boating Party, Life Studies, The Passion of Artemisia, The Forest Lover, and Girl in Hyacinth Blue.  She lives in San Diego.

To learn more about Susan Vreeland and her work, please visit her website, svreeland.com, or connect with her on Facebook.

Butterfly's Child by Angela Davis-Gardner (book review)

Butterfly's Child

Author:  Angela Davis-Gardner

Publisher:  Dial Press Trade Paperback

Published:  April 10, 2012

Pages:  384

ISBN 9780385340953  
Includes Synopsis of Puccini's Opera Madama Butterfly, Author's Note (with background information), A Reader's Guide and Questions and Topics for Discussion

Source:  Thank you to TLC and the publisher for a complimentary copy of Butterfly's Child.  This review is my own opinion and was not influenced be receipt of a complimentary copy of this book.

Synopsis:

When three-year-old Benji is plucked from the security of his home in Nagasaki to live with his American father, Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, and stepmother, Kate, on their farm in Illinois, the family conceals Benji’s true identity as a child born from a liaison between an officer and a geisha, and instead tells everyone that he is an orphan.

Frank struggles to keep the farm going while coping with his guilt and longing for the deceased Butterfly. Deeply devout Kate is torn between her Christian principles and her resentment of raising another woman’s child. And Benji’s life as an outcast—neither fully American nor fully Japanese—forces him to forge an identity far from the life he has known.

When the truth about Benji surfaces, it will splinter this family’s fragile dynamic, sending repercussions spiraling through their close-knit rural community and sending Benji on the journey of a lifetime from Illinois to the Japanese settlements in Denver and San Francisco, then across the ocean to Nagasaki, where he will uncover the truth about his mother’s tragic death.

A sweeping portrait of a changing American landscape at the end of the nineteenth century, and of a Japanese culture irrevocably altered by foreign influence, Butterfly’s Child explores people in transition—from old worlds to new customs, heart’s desires to vivid realities—in an epic tale that plays out as both a conclusion to and an inspiration for one of the most famous love stories ever told.

My Review: 

Madama Butterfly is a world-famous opera which found its origins in The Century magazine in 1898 as a story written by John Luther Long. From there it was written as a play where it was viewed by Pucchini who went home immediately after seeing the performance and began composing music for what would become the opera.  From these historical beginnings, Butterfly's Child finds its origins.


For those who haven't had the opportunity to see Madame Butterfly, myself included, the author Angela Davis-Gardner provides a brief summary of each act at the beginning of the book.  Angela takes the story of Benji beyond the 'finale' of the opera to Benji's life in America where his father, Frank Pinkerton, and step-mother, Kate, raise him as an "adopted" son.  For an American/Japanese child, America is so foreign as to be cruel.  He has blond hair and blue eyes but otherwise looks like his Geisha mother.  He is neither American nor Japanese and yet he is both.  Cruelly teased at school, Benji learns to defend himself as his "samurai" ancestors would have done.  


Frank Pinkerton is certainly not the ideal candidate for a husband nor father and his vices continually play havoc upon his marriage, his family, and the farm.  Why he was "loved" by Cio Cio, Benji's mother, and Kate, continues to baffle me.  Pinkerton's influence upon Benji is cruel at times, leaving Benji yearning for the land he considers home.  When Benji reaches the age of 15, he leaves home to go to his native Japan to find his mother's family where he is sure he will fit in.  He learns some hard lessons along the way and has to grow up quickly.  Fortunately for Benji, he has had some positive influences in his formative years including his Grandmother, his teacher, and the veterinarian Keast, who treats him as a true son.  He is "adopted" by a Japanese import/exporter whose life he saves one day, thus introducing him to the business of importing and exporting.


Once overseas, Benji takes up the search for his mother's family, gains employment in a similar business as his adoptive father, and learns more about himself as a man.  It is here, in the "third act" that Benji's life seems successful.  He meets a girl and falls in love, starts his own business and a family.  In the finale, he discovers some truths that are an amazing twist to the story.  Oddly, though, the author seems to rush the ending, leaving me a little less than satisfied with how everything ties up.  


Angela Davis-Gardner is a master at character development.   Each person comes to life on the pages, so clearly it is as if you know them personally.  Some are utterly unlikeable while others make you smile to know them.  She has painstakingly researched history and the country of Japan which is evident throughout the book.  


Butterfly's Child is well-written and is suitable for a mature audience.  It is a novel of love, lust, desire, hope, tragedy, strength, and sorrow.  Butterfly's Child will touch you and make you ponder, leaving you yearning now to see the celebrated opera Madame Butterfly.

Meet the author:

Angela Davis-Gardner is the author of the internationally acclaimed novels Felice, Forms of Shelter, and Plum Wine, which was inspired by the time she spent teaching Tsuda College in Tokyo, Japan. An Alumni Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, Angela has won nearly thirty awards for writing and teaching. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she is at work on her next novel.

Angela's website:

www.angeladavisgardner.com

Attention Philippa Gregory Fans!!!

Like Philippa Gregory on Facebook to read an extended excerpt from her new novel, The Lady of the Rivers.

http://www.facebook.com/PhilippaGregoryOfficialFanPage?sk=app_190322544333196

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose (Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours)

The Book of Lost Fragrances
Author:  M.J. Rose
Published: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Atria Publishing
Pages: 384
ISBN 9781451662535
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Source:  A copy was provided by the author and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours which does not influence my opinion nor this review.

Synopsis:  
A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra--and lost for 2,000 years. 
 
Jac L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it's financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing--leaving a dead body in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world she thought she'd left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L'Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation - or is it just another dream infused perfume?

The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra's Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet's battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac's quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.


My Review:
Mysteries in an Egyptian tomb, fragrances that can transport you back in time through generations, pottery that the Chinese mafia will kill for, the kidnapping of the future Lama and much more await the reader in The Book of Lost Fragrances.  Based upon years of research, author M.J. Rose spins a tale that in one chapter transports us back to Egypt and Cleopatra and forbidden love to modern day Paris and the catacombs that stretch hundreds of miles beneath the city.

Jac and her brother Robbie are caught up in the intrigue involving engraved pottery shards laced with a scent which has Jac thinking she is hallucinating, just as she once did several years ago.  She sought freedom from that which she believed made her different and "ca ra zy" and found the help with Malachai, a doctor specializing in visualizations of past lives.  Now that she has returned to Paris to find her missing brother with the help of an ex-love, Griffin, Jac is symptomatic again.  A scent can, within moments of smelling, take her mind away to another land where she sees the past.

It is these pottery shards that have put them all in danger.  The Chinese mafia want them, Malachai wants them to assist him in his work, Robbie wants to give them to the Dalai Lama as they are thought to hold the keys to reincarnation.  The Chinese government requires registration of individuals who intend to reincarnate thus preventing any future Lamas.

There is a lot going on in The Book of Lost Fragrances and it is not a novel that one can just pick up casually as it demands your attention.  There's a myriad of characters here and the chapters often jump from the present to the past where we "see" Jac's visions while others include the mafia and background.  The story is exciting and intriguing, tying together the past and presence in the hands of a perfume creator.

Rated 3/5




Meet the Author:

M.J. Rose (www.mjrose.com) is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012.

Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio.

Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the '80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors - Authorbuzz.com.

The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose's novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype.

She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.