Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth

This is the follow-up to Jennifer Worth's best selling book "Call the Midwife".  If you a fallen in love with the TV show, this book will be a very enjoyable read. Even if you have never seen "Call the Midwife", "Shadow of the Workhouse " stands alone as an excellent vision of life in the 1950s in the poor area of London known as "Poplar". 

Jennifer Leigh is working as a midwife in Poplar, London and is based at Nonnatus House with the Sisters of St Raymond Nonnatus an Anglican order. This is a pseudonym for the real name of the sisters and the house. She spends some time talking about those she works with Sr. Monica Joan, Sr Julienne, St Evangelina, Trixie and Chummy. The workhouse affected the lives of many people she touches. 

Workhouses were part of life in England for more than 100 years. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 was written to make sure that the poor could not get relief unless they went to live in the workhouses that were set up. They were segregated by sex and families were separated. They were required to work to get the meager food and scant accommodations. People would rather die in the street than go to a workhouse and many did. 

Rules in the workhouses were harsh and it created a dependent population who were ill-equipped to survive in the outside world. Jennifer introduces us to some of the victims of this system and how they managed in the world of East-end London after the workhouses closed. 

If you remember Jens relationship with Mr. Collett from "Call the Midwife" you will delight in the wonderful details that we get in last third of the book called The Old Soldier. Part II deals with Sr Monica Joan and her brush with the law. 

I absolutely loved this book and it kept me very engaged throughout. I went so far as to order two more of her books. 

America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

If like me you are addicted to history, this book is a must. It is eminently readable and was well researched. I am a stickler, even in historical fiction, that the facts be meticulously stuck to and when I fact-checked things I questioned, I found that the authors had been painstaking in sticking to the main truth. Of course, conversations must be invented but I found them believable and I had a very hard time putting this book down.

This is the story of Thomas Jefferson told through the eyes of his beloved elder daughter, Patsy. Since the reality is that it was she who shaped his legacy through her editing of his papers and the destruction of anything that she didn't feel fit the narrative she was trying to create, it gives us a chance to fill in a few blanks that she is responsible for.

That Thomas Jefferson was one of the great men of the American Revolution is unquestionable but he was a flawed individual who was a slave owner and at times all too self-centered to be a really good father and husband. That he killed his wife through constant pregnancy is doubtlessly true and calling it love doesn't diminish the truth. That he fathered many children on her half-sister a slave is also left in little doubt though no mention is found in Jefferson's official papers.

What I loved about the book was the relationship of Sally Hemings and her niece Patsy, which seems quite natural in even though we are left in little doubt that Patsy knew about her father and Sally.

Through it all, we get to know the man behind the legend and the women who were a part of his life.

This was one of my favorite books of all time and I highly recommend it.

Caroline Little House, Revisited by Sarah Miller

If like me, you grew up reading and enjoying the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Caroline is the book you have been waiting to read as an adult. Sarah Miller tells us Caroline Ingalls' story in her own words and with the full approval of the Little House Heritage Trust.

#carolinelittlehouserevisited

The Little House books in spite of the fact that they seem to be autobiographical are in many ways fictional. Laura Ingalls was writing fiction for children so while she did use some of her memories, she also embellished, ignored and totally created both characters and events. Sarah Miller has had the courage to write a story about Caroline that adheres more closely to the actual historical facts.

While children may find pulling up stakes and moving away from everyone and everything that they know exciting, for a woman and mother, especially a pregnant one, it was much more challenging. Caroline shares with us her thoughts and feelings, how torn she is as a wife to support her husband even when she may not be in agreement with him.

We meet Ma in this book not so much as the sober, serious woman who is always trying to curb Laura's exuberance but more as a strong woman who has to cook meals on the fly has survived privation that is only hinted at and yet still manages to find joy in faith and life. 

Caroline is a much more sympathetic figure than Ma, and Pa, though he is certainly charming is too much of a dreamer and you could even call him irresponsible when he gets an idea in his head. 

I found this book hard to put down. I was fascinated by the woman who was Caroline Ingalls.  As much as I loved the book, I thoroughly enjoyed the P.S. at the end of the book where we learn what went into the creation of this character from the few actual historical records that exist.

This is a wonderful way to continue the Ingalls family saga with a more realistic perspective of what life really was like in a Little House on the Prairie. 

I give 4.5 stars out of 5

Two Queens in One Isle by Alison Plowden

#twoqueensinoneisle

The story of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots has been told many times before. What Alison Plowden does in Two Queens in One Isle to bring this relationship to life in a way that makes both of them sympathetic. 

Mary and Elizabeth were first cousins once removed. Mary's grandmother Margaret Tudor was the sister of Elizabeth's father Henry VIII. What is quite amazing is that the two women never met in person. Mary was Elizabeth's prisoner for more than 18 years and a threat to her throne for most of that time. 

Elizabeth didn't want to meet Mary in person due to many factors but it was important for the security of the country that she not give any legitimacy to Mary's claim to the English throne. Mary was a Catholic and thus was supported by the pope and English Catholics and of course, Elizabeth's mother was Anne Boleyn who was pregnant with her when Henry finally broke with Rome and declared his first marriage invalid and married Anne. He later declared Elizabeth a bastard and his second marriage invalid. This made her right to the throne somewhat precarious since in the eyes of Catholics she was a bastard. 

In spite of all the provocation she received over the years from Mary, Elizabeth had always been reluctant to execute her cousin. Once you execute a legitimate queen, you have opened yourself up to similar treatment. 

This book is a fascinating look at the letters and relationship between these two very different cousins and what made both of them act the way that they did. 

Traitors of the Tower by Alison Weir

Traitors of the Tower is one of the books in the Quick Reads Series. It is only 75 pages long and the print is large. I read it in about an hour and found it vastly enjoyable. If you are looking for a quick synopsis of the seven most tragic deaths to take place in the Tower of London this book will satisfy your need.

#traitorsofthetower

As always, Alison Weir's work is very readable. She sticks to the known facts and doesn't add a bunch of her own twists but in these seven cases, the facts are interesting enough without embellishment to provide an hour of enjoyment. 

The book begins with Lord Hastings who was beheaded in the Tower of London by Richard of Gloucester on the eve of his seizing the throne in 1483. Her explanation is one of the best I have ever read and it has shaken my faith in the innocence of King Richard III. 

Next comes Queen Anne Boleyn who was as much a victim of her own ambition and ill temper as anyone who was ever executed in the Tower. 

Margaret Pole, Duchess of Salisbury is about as saintly a victim as the tower has ever seen except perhaps for Thomas More. She was King Henry VIII cousin and it was her royal blood and unruly sons that caused her demise. She is the Maggie of the White Princess if you were a fan of that series. 

Queen Katherine Howard was probably the stupidest person ever beheaded on Tower Green but it never is a smart thing to cheat on an old and jealous husband who has already beheaded a wife for adultery. 

Lady Jane Rochford is probably the most deserving of the victims in this book, not much good can be said about her. 

The most innocent and heartbreaking traitor is Lady Jane Grey, she never wanted to be queen, never wanted to threaten her cousin Queen Mary and as the pawn of her parents and in-laws lost her head.

The last traitor truly was a traitor, Robert Devereaux did plot against Queen Elizabeth I but his big sin was seeing her as the old aged woman that she had become.

These are the seven people that we meet in this book and it is so worth a read. I bought it from Abe Books and I recommend, if you are looking for a short and sweet read, you give this one a try. 

The Stuart Princesses by Alison Plowden

I have to admit, Alison Plowden is one of my favorite authors of history. She has an easy to read style that makes even the most mundane moments in history come to life. In The Stuart Princesses, she introduces the daughters of the Stuart Kings James I, Charles I and James II. She might have titled this book the unknown Stuart princesses since most of this book was all news to me. 

It begins with Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of James I who became known as the Winter Queen. She was married at a young age to Frederick Count Palatine of the Rhine. It turned out to be a very happy marriage but their ill-thoughtout acceptance of the crown of Bohemia affected the rest of their lives. Elizabeth was the mother of Prince Rupert who was such an important figure in the English Civil War and grandmother of King George I of England. 

The daughters of King Charles I of England are quite thoroughly covered as are the daughters of James II, who both became Queens of England. 

If you are an English history buff like I am, you will find this very eye opening. In most histories, these woman are given very little covereage and yet they played a vital role in the dynastic history of Europe in the 17th and 18th century. 

I think this is a great addition to any histories that you have previously read and in her usual style, Alison Plowden has made this easy to read and enjoy. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5. 

Tudor Women Queens and Commoners by Alison Plowden

While women during the Tudor age did not have a lot of power in their own right, times being what they were, they did have a lot of influence and they played a vital role. Beginning with the mother of Henry Tudor, Margaret Beaufort, Alsion Plowden brings us the nitty gritty and not always pretty story of the women who shaped history for the better part of 150 years in Tudor Women Queens and Commoners. 

Margaret Tudor had no control over a great deal of her life and yet, she is probably the most powerful woman of the era. She learned early to work behind the scenes to get what she wanted. She was the most important woman in her son's life even after his marriage. Luckily for her, his wife Elizabeth learned early that it was better to be friends with her mother in law.  

Much has been written about the marital machinations of King Henry VIII but this book takes a different look at the women that he married and how they influenced the King and also history. 

 This is not just the story of the Royals, however, interspersed throughout the book are tidbits about what life was like for the average woman during this time. It is fascinating to get this glimpse of the lives outside the court, in the towns and villages of England. 

Much changed during this period though women would not reach anything like equality for more than 500 years. If you enjoy Tudor history and like a book from a woman's perspective, I highly recommend this book. It isn't a large book, less than 175 pages but it is jam-packed with great information and presented in an easy to read chatty fashion. I give it a 4.5 out of 5.