Just a quick note to let everyone know I'll be participating in a Read Along of the newest release of C.W. Gortner's, The Queen's Vow which is being hosted at www.HF-Connection.com.

Arleigh and I were contemplating when we were going to read it, and the read along was born! The discussion posts will be separated into the actual parts for the novel (happiness that Gortner created parts in the novel so we could easily find breaks!).

The reading is scheduled to begin on Saturday, and the very first discussion post is on Tuesday the 10th.

Click here to view the schedule and to learn about a special giveaway that Arleigh is sponsoring, available to a lucky read along participant!

There's still time to buy the book and join us, especially if you have a Kindle! Hope to see you there!

2000 reissue of a forbidden 1944 tale, Chicago Review Press

Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor
Originally published 1944
Chicago Review Press, September 2000
Paperback 976 pages
Novel purchased from HalfPrice Books
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars


Forever Amber is one of those books that you either love or hate it. Some hate it because the main protagonist is a total dimwit with zero scruples. Others feel it is a total rip of Gone With The Wind. And, hey, if I were a critical woman I'd agree wholeheartedly, but the fact of the matter is that I simply do not care as long as I am being entertained. Instead of rereading Gone With the Wind over and over, I'd so much rather read rip-offs and garner a new experience with new characters. And what better setting than that of Restoration England?

Amber is a harlot and cares only about herself. Once I got past that icky fact, I let the scenery suck me into Amber's world during the seventeenth century. And lucky for us, the story is told omniscient so that we get a little taste of everyone, from Charles II and his Queen, to his mistress Barbara Palmer and but always back again to Amber. There are quite a few supporting characters and men to keep the story interesting, as Amber keeps that one man never far from our thoughts: Bruce Carlton (said as an epithet: Bruce Carlton!! $%#%$!!)

Halfway through the book, where in other novels heroines would finally have settled down and conducted themselves in a respectable manner, Forever Amber once again exhibits reasons why there are some who loathe it. I'll say it again: Amber is a harlot. Can I truly get past this fact four hundred pages later with even more to go? I will say that she actually does manage to redeem herself for half a moment when she takes care of Bruce, but I knew it wouldn't last long.

The background of the story (and its saving grace) is the magnificent era of the Restoration in all its glory. Charles II and his mistresses are featured, with the corresponding courtiers the likes of Samuel Pepys and the Duke of Hamilton/Buckingham/etc. The decadence, the plays, the plague, the privateers, the discontent of England and the distant hope of America are the novel's driving force as Amber becomes involved in them all.

Peggy Cummings, original star of Forever Amber, but sadly was replaced by Linda Darnell. This is exactly how I pictured her.

One of the amazing things that always gets me thinking is the original novel that Kathleen Winsor had written. Her original publisher is said to have cut her final draft to one-fifth its size. What was cut out? Why didn't they publish separate volumes if size was an issue? The author's other novels seem to be more themed as pure romance types, so I wonder if it was the romantic scenes that got the heave-ho. Even though the topic is scandalous enough for the 1940's when this was written, the sex scenes are completely skipped over. Fourteen US states banned the book for pornography.. from this typically prudish gal I'm like you've gotta be kidding me! Because even though Amber IS a harlot, the actual sex is not here. But, we're talking fifty years ago, so the ALLUSION of sex is evident and therefore ruffled prim and proper feathers.

The entire story of a girl sowing her oats in Restoration England is a memorable one, and I can understand the reasons why this novel has made the favorites list. The details are immense, and the narration of the story is done so well that the reader gets immersed in the era of Charles II and the Restoration. The final scene leaves us shaking our heads, and wondering what silliness Amber is going to embark on next. We can only imagine.

With the piles and piles of review books that I feel like I have been drowning in, I decided to make a true effort to read something of my own personal library. Yet, the only way to do that was to physically pencil it in my calendar.. and with a little help from my friend.. the Forever Amber Read A Long was born!

The First Meme for the Read A Thon: