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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
This book lacked the charm of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it.
Catching Up…
Apparently, this is another book I haven’t posted my review yet. So, here goes…
There is no doubt I am a fan of this author. I absolutely loved, “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” and her recent book, “The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club.” She has a flair for historical fiction.
The author is an artist when it comes to describing the English countryside, especially to those of us who don’t live there.
With this story, she takes us to Rye, a Sussex town, before the United Kingdom (UK) enters WWI. It becomes clear to readers early on that Archduke Ferdinand has been assassinated, so tensions are beginning.
Our main protagonist is a delightful young woman named Beatrice Nash who serves as a Latin teacher in Rye to the village’s children. And we can only presume that the woman portrayed on the cover, is our beloved character, Beatrice, who arrived in town on a bicycle, which is a rather unconventional mode of transportation. In many ways she is an unconventional character, which makes her fun and different to the villagers.
Many things about the author’s writing is not just about the physical setting, this is also a sensory reading experience.
“The scents of honeysuckle and wallflowers rose on the salty breeze.”
Also, there are foods that get our palates salivating as they are so ‘tastefully’ described. As readers we can feel ourselves within the pages of the book enjoying all these moments as if we are also present.
And the author creates a lot of interesting characters with quirky names and descriptions that add to the story.
We can also feel the loss of peace pending as war looms in the background. Where it feels like awkward times, becoming less innocent.
Readers might enjoy the gentle plotting and social commentary and witty conversations amongst the characters. Still, this one was a bit imperfect. It moved a bit slowly at times which may frustrate some readers.
Apparently, this is another book I haven’t posted my review yet. So, here goes…
There is no doubt I am a fan of this author. I absolutely loved, “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” and her recent book, “The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club.” She has a flair for historical fiction.
The author is an artist when it comes to describing the English countryside, especially to those of us who don’t live there.
With this story, she takes us to Rye, a Sussex town, before the United Kingdom (UK) enters WWI. It becomes clear to readers early on that Archduke Ferdinand has been assassinated, so tensions are beginning.
Our main protagonist is a delightful young woman named Beatrice Nash who serves as a Latin teacher in Rye to the village’s children. And we can only presume that the woman portrayed on the cover, is our beloved character, Beatrice, who arrived in town on a bicycle, which is a rather unconventional mode of transportation. In many ways she is an unconventional character, which makes her fun and different to the villagers.
Many things about the author’s writing is not just about the physical setting, this is also a sensory reading experience.
“The scents of honeysuckle and wallflowers rose on the salty breeze.”
Also, there are foods that get our palates salivating as they are so ‘tastefully’ described. As readers we can feel ourselves within the pages of the book enjoying all these moments as if we are also present.
And the author creates a lot of interesting characters with quirky names and descriptions that add to the story.
We can also feel the loss of peace pending as war looms in the background. Where it feels like awkward times, becoming less innocent.
Readers might enjoy the gentle plotting and social commentary and witty conversations amongst the characters. Still, this one was a bit imperfect. It moved a bit slowly at times which may frustrate some readers.
I really enjoyed this, very Jane Austen-esque, concerning social norms and manners, and how they limit folks. Also some tears and a nicely wrapped ending. I would read it again.
I liked this, as I thought it did a good job of showing us English village life pre-WWI. There were a lot of characters that I had a little trouble keeping track of, though I quite liked the main character, young, destitute Beatrice Nash, who arrives in the village of Rye to teach Latin. This is somewhat scandalous, as how could a woman possibly teach Latin?!?! Her sponsor, Agatha Grange, wants Beatrice to be incredibly circumspect in her behaviour, as anything Beatrice does will reflect on Agatha, and will make it hard for Agatha to maintain her dominance in the village’s intrigues and politics.
Much of the book is spent dealing with the village infighting, as the time marches ever onward to open war with Germany, and the village men leaving to fight, including Agatha’s beloved nephews.
I could appreciate how well the author portrayed the attitudes and beliefs in the village, including the toxic attitude to the Roma living in the area, and how everyone, except Beatrice, reviled them.
We also get a hint of the changing beliefs of women about their roles in society, and the resistance to this change. I did not like the way Simonson relied on the bury your gays trope in her storytelling, however much homophobia was seen as the norm at the time. This was my only serious complaint about this story.
Much of the book is spent dealing with the village infighting, as the time marches ever onward to open war with Germany, and the village men leaving to fight, including Agatha’s beloved nephews.
I could appreciate how well the author portrayed the attitudes and beliefs in the village, including the toxic attitude to the Roma living in the area, and how everyone, except Beatrice, reviled them.
We also get a hint of the changing beliefs of women about their roles in society, and the resistance to this change. I did not like the way Simonson relied on the bury your gays trope in her storytelling, however much homophobia was seen as the norm at the time. This was my only serious complaint about this story.
Wow. Much better than anticipated. Well-researched, entertaining, and poignant look at the effect of World War I on a group of Englishmen and women. Insightful l glimpse of how the War changed social mores. Empathetic characters and a briskly paced narrative kept my interest. I particularly liked the Romany angle that Simonson included.
Beautifully written story about life, love and the role of women in England prior to WWI. Even better than Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.
I wish Goodreads let us give half stars because this is a 3.5 star book. It's good and I enjoyed it, but I don't think it is as good as Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, perhaps because it's a much more ambitious book.
As the title suggests it's set on the eve of WWI, and you have the innocence of that era coupled with the knowledge that this is the end (more or less) of a certain way of English life. There's a larger cast of characters than in Major Pettigrew and a couple of plots going on. It's also more sprawling in terms of mood. At times, it feels very much like an E.F. Benson novel and then we zoom into something much more heartfelt. That's hard to do for anyone and I don't think Simonson quite brings it off. Still, it was an engrossing book and it leaves me eager to read her next.
I did love the nods to Henry James (and Edith Wharton) and to E.F. Benson. There are a number of little literary Easter Eggs peppered throughout the plot that I appreciated.
As the title suggests it's set on the eve of WWI, and you have the innocence of that era coupled with the knowledge that this is the end (more or less) of a certain way of English life. There's a larger cast of characters than in Major Pettigrew and a couple of plots going on. It's also more sprawling in terms of mood. At times, it feels very much like an E.F. Benson novel and then we zoom into something much more heartfelt. That's hard to do for anyone and I don't think Simonson quite brings it off. Still, it was an engrossing book and it leaves me eager to read her next.
I did love the nods to Henry James (and Edith Wharton) and to E.F. Benson. There are a number of little literary Easter Eggs peppered throughout the plot that I appreciated.
The slow pace of the time period is conveyed as the story drifts along towards what the reader knows as an inevitable outbreak of war. The concern over grass stained tennis whites, and dinner guest lists seem like such silly things to be fussing over, not many saw the sunset on their way of life coming.
I was definitely expecting something more like Guernsey society or Major Pettigrew and I think that this book-though it definitely had those really lovely charming moments-definitely tended to be a little darker especially towards the end than either of the other two. So you know, be warned. That said, these characters really grew on me and I think simonson does a good job once again of peopling her world with interesting and somewhat flawed characters. They aren't perfect, but many of them are charming and some are really frustrating and just wrong. The audio for this by the way is FANTASTIC. If you're ever like man I want to listen to a soothing English voice read to me about a small town the summer before the war with some small dramatics etc then MAN you have to get this audio. I had a really shitty week and every time I listened to this book I felt a little better even when the story got sadder. So! There's that.