classic books

Book Review: The House on the Strand

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The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

The House on the Strand

by Daphne du Maurier

1 out of 5 stars

Dick Young agrees to take an experimental drug that his friend Magnus has been developing in his lab. Magnus claims that the mind, under the influence of the drug, will time travel back to the 1330s, while the body stays in the present. Dick becomes obsessed with the people he meets back in history, taking more and more of the drug to continue visiting the past, even when it puts him in danger and he becomes addicted to the drug. He ignores his family and the responsibilities of his life, focused only on acquiring more of the drug so that he can discover the fate of the beautiful Lady Isolda in Medieval Cornwall.

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Book Review: Burning Beauty

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Burning Beauty by Temple Bailey

Burning Beauty
by Temple Bailey

4.5 out of 5 stars

Virginia is overshadowed by her selfish brother Rickey, who is convinced that he has the genius to write a bestselling book. He potentially sells the manuscript to a famous editor, Michael McMillan, who is smitten with the lovely Virginia. But Virginia is also being wooed by rich Anthony, who impresses her with his fancy country estate. Virginia must choose if she will marry for money or for love, but her brother’s selfish concerns take precedence and Virginia runs away from both her suitors in order to take care of Rickey.
Rickey is obsessed with a wealthy socialite called Marty that he dubs his “silver witch”. She is his muse for a new book, but she is just toying with him. He barely notices the sweet Mary Lee who truly loves him.

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Book Review: Can You Forgive Her?

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Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope

Can You Forgive Her? (Palliser #1)
by Anthony Trollope

5 out of 5 stars

Alice breaks off her engagement with John Grey and considers the proposal of her cousin George Vavasor instead. She vacillates between these two men as she vacillates with her own character. She considers what her life would be like with each of them, and has to decide what kind of person she wants to be. She worries that she will be stuck in a boring country life with John Grey, and longs for more political excitement as her cousin George is up for election and hopes to gain a seat in Parliament. Alice is confused and can’t sort through her true feelings and she has no one to guide her in making these decisions.

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Classic Book Review: Guyfford of Weare

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Guyfford of Weare
by Jeffery Farnol

3.5 out of 5 stars
Sir Richard Guyfford is under suspicion of murdering his cousin Sir Julian. It is well known that the two cousins had bitterly quarreled and planned to meet in a duel within a month’s time, but Sir Julian was murdered before the duel could take place. Before his death, Sir Julian left a hidden note with a riddle to the true identity of his killer. Lady Helen D’Arcy vows to help Sir Richard find the true killer. Although she has her doubts about his innocence, she can’t help but fall in love with the dashing Sir Richard even while she declares that she hates and despises him.

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Classic Book Review: Belinda

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Belinda by Maria Edgeworth

Belinda
by Maria Edgeworth

4.5 out of 5 stars
Belinda’s aunt sends her to stay with Lady Delacour, the most popular lady in all of London, hoping that Belinda will meet lots of wealthy young men and make a brilliant match. Although Lady Delacour spends her nights at various sparkling high society events, her days are full of misery and despair. Belinda discovers that there is a rift between Lord and Lady Delacour, and Lady Delacour is hiding a terrible secret.

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Book Review: Little Girl Lost

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Little Girl Lost by Temple Bailey

Little Girl Lost
by Temple Bailey

4 out of 5 stars

Araminta is barely nineteen when she agrees to elope with Barney. But she doesn’t really love him; she just wants to get away from her stepsisters at home. Araminta is also trying to forget about Jan, the gentleman who broke her heart two years before. But when she unexpectedly sees Jan on the night before the wedding, Araminta calls off the elopement and decides to take up a career as an actress in New York. The critics think she has some talent and Araminta throws herself into her acting career, working herself to death trying to forget both Barney and Jan. Through the course of a year, she tries to make sense of her own heart and find her way back to the man she truly loves.

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Book Review: Silver Slippers

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Silver Slippers by Temple Bailey

Silver Slippers
by Temple Bailey

5 out of 5 stars

Joan thinks she has found her true love when she meets Drew, and she readily agrees to an engagement. But Drew is selfish and jealous, and he laughs at what he calls her “prudish morality.” Joan is so unhappy that she turns for advice to a new acquaintance, Giles, a young man who owns a bookshop in town. Giles quickly recognizes Joan’s innocence and sweetness, and vows that he will help her get away from greedy high-society people like Drew. But Joan finds herself fascinated with Drew, despite his faults, and she can’t make up her mind to leave him. At the same time, she trusts Giles’ wisdom, and wishes that Drew could be so steady and faithful.

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Book Review: Heart of Midlothian

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The Heart of Midlothian by Walter Scott

The Heart of Midlothian
by Walter Scott

4 out of 5 stars

Jeanie Deans is horrified to learn that her sister, Effie, has been arrested on a charge of child-murder. Effie insists that she is innocent and that her baby was taken from her immediately after his birth. Effie refuses to tell anyone who the father is. The lawyers assure Jeanie that there is a loophole in the law and that if Jeanie will only testify that her sister told her about the pregnancy before the child was born, then Effie cannot be prosecuted under the law. But Jeanie is from a staunchly religious family and she feels that she cannot tell a lie under oath. Effie is condemned to death, and Jeanie undertakes a long and dangerous journey to London to seek a pardon directly from the king.

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Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection

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The Engineer's Thumb by Stephanie Baudet

The Engineer’s Thumb (The Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection, #14)
by Stephanie Baudet  (Adapted by), Arianna Bellucci (Illustrations)

An engineer comes to Holmes with a terrible story to tell. He was lured to a house in the middle of the night and attacked, and his thumb was cut off! Holmes and Watson listen to his story with horror, and they quickly get the police on the track of the criminals, but only Holmes can make sense of the strange circumstances.

A Scandal in Bohemia by Stephanie Baudet

A Scandal in Bohemia (The Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection, #11)
by Stephanie Baudet  (Adapter), Arianna Bellucci (Illustrations)

When the royal family of Bohemia needs help, Holmes is on the case tracking down a photograph being used for blackmail. The blackmailer is the beautiful Irene Adler, and she might be the only person to ever fool Holmes and beat him at his own game.

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Book Review: The Hermit of Far End

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The Hermit of Far End by Margaret Pedler

The Hermit of Far End
by Margaret Pedler

5 out of 5 stars

Sara is left alone when her adopted uncle dies, but she befriends his cousin, Elizabeth, and her son, Tim. Tim promptly falls in love with Sara, but she feels only friendship for him. So she goes away to make her own way in life in a small seaside town where she rents rooms in the household of the local doctor. She learns that there is a wealthy man, Garth Trent, living in a big house on the cliffs who lives the life of a hermit, never entering into the social events of the neighborhood.

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