classic literature

Book Review: The Talisman

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The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott Bart

The Talisman
by Sir Walter Scott

5 out of 5 stars

King Richard the Lionheart is on a Crusade to the Holy Land when he falls ill with a fever. A month-long truce is called between the armies, and Richard’s European allies use the time to plot against him. A poor Scottish knight, Sir Kenneth, goes on a short pilgrimage to visit the holy hermit of a nearby mountain range with secret messages from the European council to Saladin, the leader of the Muslim army. On the way Sir Kenneth meets a lone Arabian warrior, and after a brief skirmish, they agree to travel together as worthy opponents. Sir Kenneth arrives at the hermitage and sees a strange and holy sight that changes the destiny of his life.

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Book Review: Tales Before Narnia

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Tales Before Narnia by Douglas A. Anderson

Tales Before Narnia: The Roots of Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
by Douglas A. Anderson (Editor)

4 out of 5 stars

This collection of short stories and poems includes works that influenced C.S. Lewis or were direct forerunners of some of his ideas. The list includes G.K.Chesterton, George Macdonald, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Kenneth Grahame, and Edith Nesbit. There are also works from some of Lewis’s fellow Inklings, friends and acquaintances, such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, Roger Lancelyn Green, and William Lindsay Gresham.

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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: The Good Soldier

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The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford

The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion
by Ford Madox Ford

1 out of 5 stars

DNF at page 62.
John Dowell tells the story of how he discovered that his wife had been having an affair with another married man for years. Mr. Dowell and his wife, Florence, meet Mr. and Mrs. Ashburnham at a European spa where they strike up a casual friendship that continues for nine years. They meet again each summer in Europe and spend their vacation together. Edward Ashburnham seems like a good fellow, trustworthy and decent, but he has a history of adultery and debauchery that he keeps secret.

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Book Review: Paul Faber, Surgeon

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Paul Faber, Surgeon by George MacDonald

Paul Faber, Surgeon
by George MacDonald

4 out of 5 stars

Paul Faber is an atheist, but still remains friends with Thomas Wingfold, the curate. The two have lively discussions about God and Christianity, but Paul still continues to deny the existence of God even though he respects Thomas as a person. Paul is called to the bedside of a young woman and, with his skill as a doctor, brings her back from the edge of death. Juliet is a lukewarm Christian at best, and she soon comes to think that Paul might have the truth on his side. Their romance is shadowed by secrets from their past. They try to create a perfect dream of love and happiness together, but they don’t trust each other with their darkest secrets until they begin to seek healing from Christ.
Juliet befriends Dorothy, the daughter of a local minister who has fallen into poverty and begins to doubt his faith when he feels that God has forsaken him. Dorothy also has her doubts about Christianity and feels miserable until she can find her faith again as she sees how God is working in her father’s life.

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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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Book Review: The Flirt

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The Flirt (1913)
by Booth Tarkington

3.5 out of 5 stars
Cora flirts with anything in pants and overshadows her older sister Laura at every party. When the handsome Valentine Corliss returns to town, Cora immediately gets to work, flirting with him and ignoring her own fiancée. But the fiancée and the whole string of ex-boyfriends are not content to be ignored. Laura and the rest of the family have to put up with an avalanche of men in and out of the house, and their little brother Hedrick decides to get his revenge on his sisters. He is always getting into mischief, but this time he could really cause serious trouble for Cora and Laura.

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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: The Phantom of the Opera

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The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

The Phantom of the Opera
by  Gaston Leroux

4 out of 5 stars

Christine is fascinated by the voice of the “Angel of Music”, and he trains her to be a great singer at the opera. When Christine is reunited with her childhood friend, Raoul, they discover that the Angel of Music is really the dreaded Phantom, who has terrorized the Opera House for many years. Raoul wants to protect Christine, but she feels pity intermingled with fear for the Phantom, and cannot bring herself to betray him.

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