Myrna Loy in Evelyn Prentice.
While working my way through endless stacks of magazines and papers I managed to get some novels in along the way. Here's the latest.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness
Dr. Diana Bishop is an American scholar studying at Oxford who just happens to be a
witch with roots back to Salem, Massachusetts. One day in the Bodleian Library
she orders up an alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, which draws the attention
of every witch, vampire, and daemon in the area, including a 1,500-year old
vampire named Matthew Clairmont. Bishop, who has always been reluctant to use
her powers, is drawn to the charismatic Clairmont and the two are soon working
together to discover the secrets of the manuscript. The book starts off
strong; I loved the scenes set in the library and around Oxford as well as the
initial dance between Bishop and Clairmont. Yet I felt the romance became too
rushed and at 592 pages, certain sections could have been edited down.
13 rue Thérèse: A Novel by Elena Mauli Shapiro
American scholar Trevor Stratton, (yes, I read two books in a row involving American scholars) working at a Paris
university, discovers a box filled with objects once owned by Louise
Brunet, a woman whose story is pieced together by Trevor from the contents and his own imagination. Spanning both World Wars, Brunet’s tale includes a cousin
she loved who was lost in the first war, her marriage to a good but boring man, and her fixation with a neighbor. Filled with photographs
of the objects in the box, the book is both lovely and moving. The author states that she inherited the box and its contents from the real Brunet. I don’t
know how much of this tale is true but in the end it doesn’t really matter. Shapiro
vividly brings Paris and Brunet to life and that’s what’s important.
Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade by Patrick Dennis
Highland Fling by Nancy Mitford
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