Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
A cotillion is a formal dance in which couples change partners, like a quadrille. It can also mean a general ball, specifically one for a debutant as she enters society for the first time. So, a cotillion can also be a kind of a training dance as well, one in which young children practice together
In the Regency romance novel Arabella by Georgette Heyer (published 1949), our titular heroine, the young daughter of a humble reverend, gets a chance to bloom in city society, especially after a rumor spread that she is a wealthy heiress. Robert Beaumaris, a wealthy dandy that sets the city standard of chic, is amused when
The titular young lady in The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (published 1950; reissued 2009, 2023 by Sourcebooks Casablanca) is a spunky female main character who effortlessly brings life to the dreary Rivenhall home. This is an ideal historical fiction Rom Com put into a book! Note: I read a lightly edited version reissued two
Pride and Perjury by Alice McVeigh (Warleigh Hall, 2024) is a compilation of Jane Austen fan fiction stories, mostly related directly to the characters from Pride and Prejudice, but also including some tie-ins with characters from Emma. Although Emma isn’t as familiar to me as my all-time favorite with Lizzie Bennett, even these Emma-related stories
At first glance, James: A Novel by Percival Everett (Doubleday, March 2024) is a clever retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but quickly proves to be much more. Huck Finn joins runaway slave Jim on an adventure down the Mississippi River, to be joined by con men and more. But that is only the
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (originally published 1885) is a classic novel of a boy “growing up” and coming to terms with the world, faith, and friendship. Written by talented Samuel Clemens, Huckleberry Finn takes the familiar rebel child Huck, who was first introduced in the novel about Tom Sawyer, and gives
The Out of Jerusalem series by H.B. Moore (Covenant Communications, 2003-2006) retells the story of Lehi, Nephi, and their families as they leave Jerusalem and head for the promised land, giving the characters in the early parts of The Book of Mormon distinct personalities. Although there were many aspects I enjoyed as a part of
In My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Washington Square Press, 2005), thirteen-year-old Anna sues her parents for bodily autonomy. Although she’s not sick, she’s had a dozen hospital stays and medical interventions throughout her life, all in the name of saving her older sister, Kate, who has leukemia. To complicate matters, her mother and father
Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick (published by Mott Media, 1990) is titled to be a book telling a narrative story of the early patriarchs of the Earth, beginning with Adam and going through Abraham. Unfortunately, it really feels like a paraphrase retelling with very little narrative. It seems unfair to say: there was
It is quite rare to see a disease like cystic fibrosis depicted in an historical fiction novel, let alone historical fiction that takes place during the middle ages! In Breath (Atheneum, November 2003), creative storyteller Donna Jo Napoli retells the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin with a twelve-year-old boy that has cystic fibrosis
Although the title of Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Alice McVeigh (Warleigh Hall Press, June 2023) suggests that it is a retelling of the classic novel focusing on the leading man, it actually presents the entire Pride and Prejudice story from a variety of perspectives. Along excerpts from Darcy’s diary and Mary’s papers,
I read the trilogy The Kingdom and the Crown by Gerald Lund because I finished all the currently produced episodes of The Chosen! I was craving more immersion in the historical world of Roman-occupied Israel. We are studying the New Testament at church this year, and I’m the Sunday School teacher, so I promise I
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