#book 22: Book 22: MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES by Adam Gidwitz -- This middle-grade story set during WWII softens tough topics through the use of humor. Read in print or audio: the #audiobook is fantastic.
Today in Labor History February 19, 1807: The authorities arrested former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr for treason. They alleged that he was behind a plot to create an independent country in the southwest of the U.S., but had to acquit him for lack of evidence. Some believed he intended to take Texas or all of Mexico, but accounts vary as to how many supporters he had (anywhere from 40 to 7,000). In 1808, he traveled to England and attempted to garner support for a revolution in Mexico. The Brits kicked him out of the country. Prior to all this, while still vice president he had killed Alexander Hamilton in an illegal duel. He was never tried and all charges against him were dropped. Gore Vidal wrote an historical novel, “Burr,” written in the form of a memoir by Burr. The novel undoes the traditional hagiographies of America’s founding fathers, portraying them as the greedy, self-serving and often times incompetent men they really were. It was the first in his Narratives of Empire series.
Happy and proud to announce that I have a short story upcoming in the Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast's 2024 fiction lineup! https://wandering.shop/@heatherrosejones/111953977084224813 A Very Long Malaise is based on recurring complaints during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea about female palace attendants being in romantic and sexual relationships with other women, with some of them forming factions to leak palace secrets. My story is an imagining of these lesbian palace spies' lives and intrigues, centered around two exes pitted together by circumstance. #WritingCommunity#HistoricalFiction#SapphicFiction
James Leslie Mitchell (1901–1935), better known as Lewis Grassic Gibbon, was born #OTD, 13 Feb. Author of SUNSET SONG – & many other titles from #HistoricalFiction to #ScienceFiction – he is one of the most important #Scottish writers of the #20thcentury
#Book 19: Across so Many Seas by Ruth Behar -- I can't recommend enough this beautifully written story about four Sephardic Jewish girls who live in different time periods & different countries. A difficult decision: whether to read in print or in audio; each has its benefits.
The priestess.
The temple she serves.
The people and the gods she loves.
Having given up her only child and her very identity to become a priestess in ancient Crete, an idealistic young woman struggles to find meaning in the day-to-day life of the temple; but when she is chosen to be the next High Priestess, she must call on both mystical and practical skills to protect her people from the encroaching Mycenaeans, who want to destroy the Minoans’ way of life.
Graeme Macrae Burnet: His Bloody Project
Sun 4 Feb, 4pm, BBC Radio 4, & thereafter on BBC Sounds
Graeme Macrae Burnet joins James Naughtie & readers to discuss his award-winning novel HIS BLOODY PROJECT. Set in the Scottish Highlands in 1869, HIS BLOODY PROJECT explores crime, justice & retribution through the confessions of a young man accused of murder, & an account of his trial
Thank you, readers, from the bottom of my heart for not only loving this series ender, but for showing your love with ratings, reviews, and shout outs! There's no greater gift for an author. You are all STARS! 🤩💛
New to you? Immerse yourself in this sapphic noir series and prepare yourself for the emotional ride of your life! https://amzn.to/3NGKE20 (these are not standalones) #Bookstodon#WLW#SapphicBooks#HistoricalFiction
#Book 11: Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook. I liked the period details, but it was only an okay read for me. Thanks to the publishers for the review copy.
On December 13, 1889, Franklin Benjamin Gowen will die in his room at the Wormley Hotel, in Washington D.C., with a single bullet hole in his head. His eulogists will refer to him as the former president of the Reading Railroad, attorney, philanthropist, and patron of the arts.
The obituaries will say that Mr. Gowen inherited the intellectual and moral characteristics of his father, James, a pious Protestant merchant from Northern Ireland. Sobriety and piety, of course, form the foundation of good society, and Franklin was alike his father in this way. But James was also a staunch Democrat, a character flaw for which I have little patience. Their home in Mount Airy was the only one in the neighborhood without crepe after President Lincoln was assassinated. And James Gowen went to his grave insisting that there was nothing to those nasty rumors about James Buchanan, with whom he was close. Well, I knew Aunt Nancy, too. I can assure you those rumors were entirely true, though such behavior coming from a Democrat is hardly surprising.