Recent reading

[luzula]

I dare you not to snigger at the book title The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations, from 1883.

Königsmark by A E W Mason (1938)
I found this book while browsing what claimed to be the largest second-hand bookstore in Scandinavia, and given my osmosis from cahn’s salon, I had to buy it. It is about the 17th century romance between Phillip von Königsmark and Sophia Dorothea of Celle (the wife of the future George I of Britain). I have previously read Mason’s book Clementina, and going by these two books, the author likes tragic romance (to be clear, if this were a fic on AO3, it would need a warning for major character death). I enjoyed it! Besides the het romance, there's also a slashy element where Anthony, a devoted friend of Phillip’s, is disillusioned with Phillip when he lies to save his brother from being convicted in a murder trial… and later on Anthony rats out Phillip's love affair, to tragic effect. Phillip himself is portrayed as somewhat self-serving and full of self-doubt to begin with, and originally pursues Sophia Dorothea as a way of blotting out past humiliations… but then falls genuinely in love with her, which is viewed as a sort of redemption for him. The two main villains are Bernstorff, the scheming chancellor of Celle, and Clara von Platen, the mistress of the Elector of Hanover. I did find the portrayal of Clara a little misogynistic--there's a bit too much about how she's like an aging witch who has to use thick makeup. Also, the future George I has basically no role in the climax of the story, which I wonder at. More on this book at cahn’s salon.

All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot (1977, audiobook)
Another dose of engaging vet stories! A+, I enjoyed it a lot. Although I have to say that I listened to one of the WWII stories with mounting disbelief: he told it like it was an amusing anecdote, but in fact it was an absolute horror story! He needlessly had one of his teeth pulled out by an incompetent dentist with terrifying tools…

Also, I have been rereading my first FotH poly fic The Greater Happiness, and enjoying it a lot! I mean, I do write to my own tastes, so it's nice that when enough time has passed, I can enjoy my own stories. Especially when it's nicely bound in my bookcase.

Comments

The goal of every author....

[jesse_the_k]

I can enjoy my own stories. Especially when it's nicely bound in my bookcase.

Re: The goal of every author....

[luzula]

It really does feel like an achievement. : )

[sanguinity]

Also, I have been rereading my first FotH poly fic The Greater Happiness, and enjoying it a lot!

Hurrah! I also have recently reread it, and enjoyed it a lot, too!

[luzula]

Oh really? But you read it for the first time so recently! Well, I am definitely taking that as a compliment. : D

[sanguinity]

When PhoenixFalls read it, I read it along with her, the better to chat with her about it. I couldn't keep up with her -- she managed to blow through it in a single evening (!!) -- but it was a lot of fun to discuss plot points and what we liked about how you handled them. :-)

[osprey_archer]

There is no storytelling mode so deeply mid-twentieth century British as "Let me tell you a funny story" *tells story of horrifying trauma* "Isn't that hilarious??" IS IT? IS IT REALLY, THOUGH?

[luzula]

I had not thought of that particular thing as belonging to that particular time period, but I'll keep an eye out for it in future! Yes, I was aghast…

[osprey_archer]

Oh, it definitely shows up in other time periods too, but I do think that it's very prevalent in the mid twentieth century. Maybe not just in British stuff - I'm sure I've read American books that also find rollicking hilarity in things that seem pretty hair-raising actually. Well, if that stiff upper lip won't let you cry about it, at least a good laugh will let you get some of your feelings out.

[regshoe]

I really liked Clementina, for the adventure writing and the tragic romance—it's been a while now since I read it and it's still firmly in the second tier of Jacobite novels for me (below the obvious fandom ones I really love). I should read more of Mason's stuff, and Königsmark sounds very good. Are there any Jacobites in the background?

[luzula]

I agree, Clementina is good! I see that your website page for old Jacobite novels now has more entries--how do you find them?

Oh, if you're going to read this one, don't follow the link to the salon comment, because it thoroughly spoils the plot. The book should fulfill your taste for tragic het, i think. : )

ETA: Oh, I forgot your question. There is some mention of events in England, but I don't think it can really be said to contain any Jacobites.

[regshoe]

Several of them came up in the course of my FotH Wikipedia research, and Broster biographical stuff—I'd find FotH recommended alongside/compared to other Jacobite novels in reviews and articles. Then some other people in the fandom have sent me titles that they've found. Once I know an author wrote one Jacobite novel I'll comb through their bibliography looking for others, which has turned up a few more. And so on...

I had opened up the salon comment and read the first couple of sentences, but decided I didn't want more detail before reading—that's good to know, I shall not read any further! And that sounds great :D

[chestnut_pod]

I'm afraid I definitely chuckled!

I definitely remember All Things Wise and Wonderful as being my least favorite of the books when I was a child, specifically because it was so depressing to read about his wartime exploits. In particular, the scene of him returning briefly home to see Helen stuck with me for the dullness of its colors and how obvious it was even to little ten-year-old me that there was no real happiness in a fly-by visit like that.

[luzula]

I have been thinking of these as feel-good books--sure there is occasional animal death, but overall I just find them comfortable. But I can't really describe this one as feel-good, although it was still engaging and easy to listen to.

[nnozomi]

(late comment sorry)
the 17th century romance between Phillip von Königsmark and Sophia Dorothea of Celle
I only know about these two because they come up in passing in Donna Leon's The Jewels of Paradise, which is a modern-era mystery about 17th-century composers and a lot of fun. All very dramatic!

I mean, I do write to my own tastes, so it's nice that when enough time has passed, I can enjoy my own stories. Especially when it's nicely bound in my bookcase.
I love this!

[luzula]

No need to apologize for late comments! I often leave tabs open and then only get to them a week later...

Especially when it's nicely bound in my bookcase.
You too can have this, whenever you tell me your first book is finished. : D

[nnozomi]

You too can have this, whenever you tell me your first book is finished. : D
Now THAT is motivation. <3

(Reading more of the old prewar school stories, and this line reminded me of this post: “What’s a stray corner in a magazine or paper compared to a lovely little thin book of your own, with torn edges to its leaves and bound in stuff like brown blotting paper?”)