classic books

Book Review: Blue Anchor Inn

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Blue Anchor Inn by Edwin Bateman Morris

Blue Anchor Inn
by Edwin Bateman Morris

4 out of 5 stars

Roger Brooke is down to his last dollar when he meets a lawyer friend who suggests a way that Roger could make some money – get married to a wealthy heiress that very night! The heiress has to fulfill a legal clause to be married within a few days or she will lose her inheritance. When they meet, the bride wears a heavy veil so that Roger won’t be able to recognize her, and they part ways after the marriage ceremony, planning to get a divorce one year later. One year later, Roger is still married and hasn’t heard anything about the planned divorce. He is vacationing with friends on an island at Blue Anchor Inn, when a lady calling herself Mrs. Brooke arrives on the island, and Roger wonders if it could be his wife!

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Book Review: Strawberry Acres

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Strawberry Acres by Grace S. Richmond

Strawberry Acres
by Grace S. Richmond

4 out of 5 stars

When four siblings inherit a run-down farm, they aren’t sure whether to sell it or try to live there. Max opposes every plan to live in the farmhouse, since it will need extensive repairs, and it’s so large that they could never afford to furnish it. But Sally has her heart set on a peaceful country life, and she tries to persuade her brothers that they could make a living growing strawberries in the fields. Although the guys hate their stuffy city office jobs, they can’t imagine themselves as rugged farmers. They argue back and forth until finally, a disaster in the family compels them to make use of the farm, and they discover that they love living in the country.

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Book Review: Thomas Wingfold, Curate

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Thomas Wingfold, Curate by George MacDonald

Thomas Wingfold, Curate
by George MacDonald

4.5 out of 5 stars
Thomas Wingfold started a career in the church as a curate, but when he is asked whether or not he really believes there is a God, it starts him on a spiritual journey to discover what he truly believes and whether or not Christ is real. In the meantime, he continues preaching, sharing with his congregation the difficulties of his spiritual doubt and how he is searching for truth in the Bible.

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Book Review: As You Like It

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As You Like It by William Shakespeare

As You Like It
by William Shakespeare

5 out of 5 stars

Rosalind sees a young man, Orlando, fighting in a wrestling match and falls in love. Orlando is equally smitten by her loveliness. Rosalind is banished from the court by her uncle who has usurped the dukedom. Rosalind’s cousin, Celia, cannot bear to be parted from her, so the two ladies escape together searching for Rosalind’s banished father in the Forest of Arden. Orlando is fleeing for his life, after his own brother has tried to have him killed, and he also escapes into the Forest of Arden. Hilarity ensues.

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Book Review: The Golden Snare

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The Golden Snare by James Oliver Curwood

The Golden Snare
by James Oliver Curwood

4.5 out of 5 stars

Phillip is an officer with the Royal Mounted in Canada, tracking down a rumor about a murderer named Bram who is hiding in the wilds. Bram is well known to be a madman, a murderer, and the owner of a pack of ferocious wolves. Phillip meets with an eyewitness who shows him a strange rabbit snare that Bram left behind. The snare is made from a woman’s golden hair. This propels Phillip to travel into the wild and barren wastelands of the north, searching for an answer to the mystery of the golden hair.

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Classic Book Review: Evelina

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Evelina by Frances Burney

Evelina
by Frances Burney

4 out of 5 stars

Evelina is a naive young lady, entering society for the first time. She has been raised and carefully educated in the country by her affectionate guardian, but now her rich relations begin to show an interest in her. Evelina travels to London where she meets a wide variety of people, not all of them exactly nice. Evelina finds herself in a kind of culture shock as she tries to navigate the different manners of high society in London, but her sweetness and good nature will always win her friends no matter where she goes.

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Classic Book Review: Sense & Sensibility

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Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility (Modern Library)
by Jane Austen

5 out of 5 stars

Elinor and Marianne are two sisters with very different personalities. Elinor is practical and reserved. Marianne is emotional and vivacious. They struggle to understand each other, but ultimately they learn from one another. Although the sisters find romance in unexpected places, it is their sisterly relationship that defines them.

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Book Review: Under the Lilacs

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Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott

Under the Lilacs
by Louisa May Alcott

4.5 out of 5 stars

Ben has run away from the circus, and he finds compassion and generosity in the house under the lilacs. He is basically adopted by Miss Celia and her brother, Thorny, and while he is grateful for their kindness, it’s difficult for Ben to adapt to a country life after all the excitement and thrills of traveling with the circus.

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Classic Book Review: The Woman in White

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The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White
by Wilkie Collins

5 out of 5 stars

Walter Hartright is an art teacher who is hired to give drawing lessons to two sisters at a grand estate. He falls in love with one of them, Laura, but knows that he is too poor and lowly to be considered as a suitor. She is already engaged to Sir Percival, and so Walter tries to hide his love for her. However, a mysterious woman dressed all in white warns them against Sir Percival, claiming that he is a villain. Walter follows the clues to discover the identity of the woman in white and find out what terrible secret she is hiding.

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Penguin Clothbound Classics: Jane Austen Complete Boxed Set

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I received the Penguin Clothbound Classics Jane Austen boxed set for free from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. I’m so grateful to Penguin for sending me these beautiful editions!

Not only are the covers absolutely gorgeous, the box itself is beautiful too! I love that each book has a ribbon bookmark attached. Each book has a scholarly introduction, a timeline of Jane Austen’s life, and lengthy notes at the end explaining aspects of Regency history like money, class, marriage, titles, and everyday life.

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