When I first told A Consoled Reader that I was going to read The Buccaneers next, he said, “I never could figure out why Edith Wharton wrote a book about pirates.” Maybe a book about pirates would have been a little more exciting. The Buccaneers was unfinished when Edith Wharton died in 1937. The incomplete manuscript… Continue reading The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton
Opposites most certainly attract in North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. The North (of England) is industrial, smoky, dirty, and dark. The South is lush, green, bright, and full of life. Margaret Hale, the heroine of the story, calls both home. Although she spent most of her childhood living a posh life in the London… Continue reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
“Old New York” society was the most exclusive of clubs. Its social rule book was vast and very strict, dictating the lives of those lucky few allowed in. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton tells the story of Newland Archer, a member of that elite social club. He’s young, wealthy, from a good family and… Continue reading The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
2015 was not a year for books unfortunately. I had a baby in June- my first – and had a very hard time motivating myself to keep reading while adjusting to my new life and trying to get by on very little sleep. I’m hoping that changes in 2016. I’ve set a goal for myself to… Continue reading Best of 2015
Imagine a modern woman. She is young and in love with an incredibly handsome and charismatic young man. He’s dashing, really. She decides to marry him, even though her family doesn’t like him and wishes she would wait a little and get to know the guy better. Once married, she discovers he isn’t quite who… Continue reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
I Capture the Castle is told through a series of journal entries by Cassandra Mortmain, a 17-year-old girl who lives with her family in a dilapidated castle in the 1940’s. Her father is a novelist who published a one-hit-wonder, served a period of time in jail, and has since experienced an extreme case of writer’s block.… Continue reading I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons is a fun and witty read that left me wanting just a little bit more when I was finished. It was written in the 30’s and was meant to be set some time in the near future, after 1946. (I actually didn’t notice any signs of the futuristic setting… Continue reading Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
I have just started listening to a podcast by The History Chicks and am completely hooked! I’ve always been fascinated by history but have a hard time reading non-fiction histories or biographies as they can sometimes be dry and just not as exciting as fiction. Listening to a podcast is so much easier, especially with… Continue reading Gilded Age Unit
The Air of Ideas 