I’ve been reading some very good books this weekend, so let me share a bit about them with you.

First up is Capote in Kansas by Kim Powers. I’m almost done with this book and good thing too as I’m very excited I get to be a part of the author’s blog tour that starts this week. This is a ghost story of Truman Capote, Harper Lee and the murdered Kansas farm family. So far I can say I’m captivated by this blending of fact and fiction of these two who were once great friends. Here’s a snippet I really liked — can’t you just imagine the two?:

“It was up in that tree, in the backyard of the old Lee house, that she and Truman had first become writers. Each of them provided an essential ingredient (besides imagination and loneliness): Nelle, a beat-up old Underwood typewriter that her father had donated to the cause, and Truman, a waterlogged Webster’s dictionary that he carried everywhere, practically bowed down by its weight.”

My next book which I just started is Ruth Hall by Fanny Fern which is the Slaves of Golconda next book for discussion. My copy happens to be a used copy and there are a few markings throughout and while I typically hate to see writing in books I have to agree with the “WOW!” that is inscribed after this paragraph in which Ruth’s mother-in-law gives her some advice on reading:

“I hope,’ continued the old lady, ‘that you don’t read novels and such trash. I have a very select little library, when you feel inclined to read, consisting of a treatise on The Complaints of Women an excellent sermon on Predestination, by our old minister, Dr. Diggs and Seven Reasons why John Rogers, the martyr, must have had ten children instead of nine; any time that you stand in need of rational reading come to me; and the old lady, smoothing a wrinkle in her black silk apron, took a dignified leave.”

How would you like that woman for your mother-in-law? So I echo the “Wow” and am grateful for my mother-in-law who gives me bookstore gift certificates for birthday gifts and such.

I also started The Almost Archer Sisters by Lisa Gabriele. Still too early to tell but so far one sister has really gotten on my nerves. Let’s hope this story of two sisters is as heartfelt and moving as the back cover promises it to be.

Finally, as I wanted something a bit different in pace I decided to start Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger. Touted as an intense thriller, I have to admit the opening chapter was very good but then the next couple of chapters felt like whole new stories. I think though it’s finally starting to come together so I’m very interested to see what happens next.

Alright so I’m off to keep on reading. Thanks again you guys for entering the Tudormania giveaway — I will announce a winner Tuesday and even better, I’ve got a couple of other giveaways coming up in the next week so stay tuned!

I think I’ve mentioned that I’ve been on a bit of a historical kick lately right? I’ve been spending some time in the court of Henry VIII getting to know something about his wives thanks to the novels of Margaret Campbell Barnes.

“Anne’s gaudiest hours began in France. Louis’ Court was a dazzling parterre of pleasures for her delectation. Like the bright butterflies at Hever, she had emerged from her chrysalis of adolescence to sip heady essence from them all, and to flutter her wings awhile in the warm sunshine of success.”

In this novel of Anne Boleyn the reader gets to know the young woman who had her own dreams but was swept up into the world of court life and political intrigue. At the beginning of the novel Anne is shown to be a girl from the country who loves the quiet gardens of Hever but has to learn to adjust to court life in France. She is portrayed as a real woman who had her insecurities but as she learns more about court and sees how people, mainly men, are charmed by her she gains confidence and learns to wield her charms.

We follow Anne as she falls in love with Lord Harry Percy and suffers as she is forbidden to marry him. King Henry VIII has set his sights on her and is determined to have her but Anne vows that she will not be just another mistress like her sister, Mary who consorted with the King. No, Anne Boleyn will be wife and thus a chain of events which will have ramifications for the whole of England is set in motion. King Henry will divorce Katherine of Aragon and not just separate himself from his wife of 18 years but also separate England from the Catholic church.

What author Margaret Campbell Barnes does is create a sympathetic and complex character in Anne. The Queen who only ruled for three years wasn’t without faults by any means but she was also very much a pawn and paid for her actions dearly.

“It isn’t what I see. It’s what I find myself looking for,’ said Holbein. ‘That younger one is pretty enough – if you like all your goods in the shop window. But there’s something elusive about the Princess Anne, something to call a man back when he’s tired of the obvious in other women.”

At the start of My Lady of Cleves, King Henry VIII is being advised to take a fourth wife. He sends the painter Hans Holbein the Younger to the Cleves Court to paint portraits of the sisters and he would choose one. What Henry VIII didn’t know was that the painter had formed a friendship and admired Anne, the daughter everyone assumed would be the least likely pick for the monarch.

Henry chooses Anne but once he meets her he has serious misgivings and would have gone back on his word but it was already too late. Anne never wanted to go to England either but she was practical and vowed to do her duty. Her duty won’t last too long though because as soon as she’s in England, Anne realizes that Henry already has his head turned by the young Catherine Howard. Within months, Henry annuls his marriage to Anne and gives her the title of his sister. Anne will go on to forge good relationships with Henry’s children, eventually becoming friends with Henry as well and she’ll remain in England until her death.

It’s interesting that of all of Henry’s wife, I knew the least about Anne of Cleves. She seems to have been a woman who was intelligent and who really cared about the country. If only Henry had given her a chance what would things have been like?

Both of these novels were published in the 40s but have just been re-released by Sourcebooks. They are wonderful works of historical fiction and I recommend that you add them to your library. I only hope that the other novels Margaret Campbell Barnes wrote will also be re-released.

Now, the exciting part is that Sourcebooks has offered up a copy of Brief Gaudy Hour and My Lady of Cleves for a giveaway. So, I hope you like what you’ve heard about these books and will add them to your wish list. In the meantime, leave me a comment and I’ll pick two lucky winners to be announced next Tuesday. Good luck!

* Giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. Sorry to my international readers but I’ll make it up to you another time!