Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week. And I am adding what I purchased, swapped, etc.Warning:
Exploring Mailbox Mondays across the blogosphere will lead to toppling wishlists and to-be-read-piles! But it's the thrill of the chase that counts!
Books that found there way to my house included:
The Spanish Inquisition (non-fiction trilogy) by Jean Plaidy
1994 special issue by Barnes & Nobles, a hardcover in Brand new shape! The binding is beautiful and the book looks hardly touched, which is awesome for buying it cheap ($7 total with the shipping!) from an unknown used bookstore online.
"The complete story of one of history's most appalling tyrannies, begun in 1232 and destined to survive in one form or another into the 19th century. Vivid portraits of the fanatical Inquisitors and their hapless victims."
Also for my Plaidy/Carr/Holt library:
The Song of the Siren "As England erupts in violent Jacobite upheaval, two half-sisters-one of surprising beauty and untamed spirit; the other plain, shy and dutiful-vie for the love of a man and the life of a child..."
Midsummer's Eve "Annora Cadorson lived in Cornwell--on the Eversleigh estate right next to Rolf Hanson. Even after she sees him lead villagers in tormenting a suspected witch, she is still attracted to him. Then on a trip to Australia, Annora loses her father in an accident, and her heart to a former convict. But Rolf takes her back to Eversleigh to protect her estate from plunder."
The Changeling "Lavishly entwined narrative of the families connected to Benedict Lansdon, now a recently bereaved widower, absentee father and wealthy seeker of a Parliament seat. Narrated by Benedict's aggrieved stepdaughter, Rebecca, this complex tale of love and betrayal concerns a three-cornered sibling relationship involving Rebecca, her half-sister, Belinda and Lucie, a country waif informally adopted by Benedict. Aware that her father blames her for her mother's death in childbirth, Belinda takes refuge in mischievous behavior. Placid Lucie, however, fits in well with the family, though her lineage is suspect and clouded with mysterious events at St. Branok's pool. Although Belinda seems the most obvious ``changeling,'' Carr sustains an air of doubt and intrigue. The ambiance of the Cornish countryside and of Victorian London permeate this piquantly Gothic family saga."
Voices in a Haunted Room "Raised in the grand chateau of Tourville, lovely young Claudine, with her widowed mother, had fled the solitude of the French countryside as revolution torched it, sparking flames that would forever alter the landscape, their destiny, and the face of history itself.
Warmly ensconced and safe from harm in her mother's ancestral English home, Claudine discovers a new kind of danger; turning ripe and sensuous overnight, she is torn between the love of her new stepbrothers -- David, steady, scholarly, the perfect husband . . . if not the lover of her dreams; and Jonathon, so passionate, so willing to dare, far from the perfect husband, but as her first and foremost love, unsurpassed. Theirs is an amorous triangle that will burn bright through the years when England and all Europe struggle in a tyrant's grasp, till a moment on a rocky beach when one of the two men Claudine adores falls victim to a power beyond destiny."
Also from Paperbackswap:
Signora Da Vinci (2009) by Robin Maxwell, (a fantastic person as well as author..now I own all 8 of her books)
"Following the "absolutely superb" Mademoiselle Boleyn, novelist Robin Maxwell delves into the life of Caterina-the adventurer, alchemist, and mother of Leonardo da Vinci. Caterina was fifteen years old in 1452 when she bore an illegitimate child in the tiny village of Vinci. His name was Leonardo, and he was destined to change the world forever. Caterina suffered much cruelty as an unmarried mother and had no recourse when her boy was taken away from her. But no one knew the secrets of her own childhood, nor could ever have imagined the dangerous and heretical scheme she would devise to protect and watch over her remarkable son. This is her story."
Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester
To enhance my education on all things Regency and Austen-like, and to get me ready for Mesmered's Ball:
"Georgette Heyer fans will delight in Jennifer Kloester’s definitive guide to her Regency world: the people, the shops, clubs and towns they frequented, the parties and seasons they celebrated, how they ate, drank, dressed, socialized, voted, shopped and drove. A fun read for any Heyer fan."
And I purchased online a fantastic edition to go with last week's Collectors Library Purchase:
Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence (1928) "The story concerns a young married woman, Constance (Lady Chatterley), whose upper-class husband, Clifford Chatterley, has been paralyzed and rendered impotent. Her sexual frustration leads her into an affair with the gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. This novel is about Constance's realization that she cannot live with the mind alone; she must also be alive physically."
The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy (c. 1961)orsyte family tree on endpapers; Comprises three complete novels The Man of Property (1906), In Chancery (1920) and To Let (1921) "A social satire of epic proportions, convincing in its fidelity to life and a work of art. Advances the theme of beauty trapped in a world of material complacency. To read this is to glimpse a picture of an unforgettable family in a brilliant era. 715 pp. and includes a matching ribbon marker."
THE TREASURY OF AMERICAN SHORT STORIES edited by Nancy Sullivan
"Since the time of Washington Irving, the short story has been the vehicle for many of America's best prose writers, eventually evolving into a distinct form of American expression and storytelling. Sixty-three classic works by 63 American masters of the short story are included in this diverse collection (some of the selections rarely included in an anthology). Writers include Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Herman Melville, Henry James, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, John Cheever, Dorothy Parker, LeRoi Jones, Ann Beattie, Nancy Potter, James Baldwin, O. Henry, and many more. All the selections deliver to the reader a sense of the richness and variety of the short story in American literature."
Elizabeth the Great by Elizabeth Jenkins "This landmark biography gives an intimate portrait of the enigmatic Virgin Queen"
I snagged some London/UK travel books at a garage sale for dirt cheap. I love seeing the photos and reading about the history and renovations of the castles that frequent my HF reads! Books I found were In & Around London; Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle, Glasgow, Robert Burns: Scotland
"Since the time of Washington Irving, the short story has been the vehicle for many of America's best prose writers, eventually evolving into a distinct form of American expression and storytelling. Sixty-three classic works by 63 American masters of the short story are included in this diverse collection (some of the selections rarely included in an anthology). Writers include Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Herman Melville, Henry James, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, John Cheever, Dorothy Parker, LeRoi Jones, Ann Beattie, Nancy Potter, James Baldwin, O. Henry, and many more. All the selections deliver to the reader a sense of the richness and variety of the short story in American literature."
Elizabeth the Great by Elizabeth Jenkins "This landmark biography gives an intimate portrait of the enigmatic Virgin Queen"
I snagged some London/UK travel books at a garage sale for dirt cheap. I love seeing the photos and reading about the history and renovations of the castles that frequent my HF reads! Books I found were In & Around London; Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle, Glasgow, Robert Burns: Scotland
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