Queen Anne Books

For discussion Monday, September 13th & Wednesday, September 15th:

The great-granddaughter of Idina Sackville delves into the loves, disappointments, and dalliances of her scandalous ancestor in this vibrant biography.  The result is a detailed, captivating portrait of an unconventional, sometimes shameless, often sad woman who adventured through England and Kenya-- and five marriages and countless lovers-- from World War I through World War II.

Osborne shows affection and empathy for the black sheep of her family, searching for the motivations and meaning behind Idina's behavior.  After the assumed "safe" infidelities of an open Edwardian marriage led her first husband's affections permanently astray, Idina left her unfaithful husband and her toddler sons for another man and an agrarian dream life in Kenya.  It didn't quite work out as she planned; even though she inspired society page headlines, racy novels, and elegant portraits, Idina's didn't find happiness through "freedom."

The glamour and recklessness of Idina and her fast-living Happy Valley Set is like something from a soap opera.  Tallulah Bankhead, Isak Denisen, and Michael Arlen are among the crowd who take part in Idina's whiskey- and gin-fueled pajama parties, bathing in champagne, sharing lovers, stalking lions, and dancing until dawn.  The author's extensive research and evocative sensory details make the swirling social scene come vividly to life. The dresses, the cocktails, the records on the gramophone are all chronicled, giving a cinematic and dramatic feel to a story that seems too wild to be true. ~Tegan

For discussion Monday, November 8th & Wednesday, November 10th:

Considered the largest fire in history, the big burn that gives Tim Egan’s new book its title, destroyed more than three million acres, burned five towns to the ground and killed nearly 100 people—all in less than two days. The blaze cut through the Rocky Mountain high country of Washington, Idaho and Montana in 1910, shortly following Theodore Roosevelt’s preservation of vast areas of public lands and the creation of the national Forest Service to protect the lands.
The Big Burn does for this cataclysmic event what The Worst Hard Time did for the Dust Bowl, namely brings to life a little understood period of US history with dramatic detail and a profound sense of the context within which the event occurred and its consequences.
In my opinion, Tim Egan is a master of narrative history. His research is impeccable and so detailed that events spring to life, no matter how dry they might seem at first. What I enjoy the most is his ability to paint a whole broad canvas so that the reader comes away with a thorough understanding of a period in America’s development. Reading Tim Egan is like taking the best US history course imaginable.
“The government had marshaled ten thousand people, an army of young men, immigrants, and volunteers, to fight the fire. It was the first large-scale effort to battle a wildfire in U.S. history. The firefighters failed, because the Big Burn was so big and moved so quickly. But they succeeded in one respect: it turned the tide of public opinion, and Roosevelt's “Great Crusade” was saved. But at an awful cost. Those men should never have died. The fire was a once-in-a-century force of nature, and nothing could have stopped it,” Egan reports.
The Great Crusade Egan refers to is Teddy Roosevelt’s push to set aside portions of America’s beautiful forest areas as public spaces. In this aspect, The Big Burn dovetails nicely with Ken Burns’ recent series on national parks. The Big Burn delivers a huge history lesson but reads like a page-turner. This is non-fiction at its best. Give it as a gift to your favorite history lovers. ~Wendee

For discussion Monday, January 10th, 2011 and Wednesday, January 12th, 2011:

When Elspeth dies, she leaves her London flat to her 20-year-old American twin nieces, Valentina and Julia. Never mind that Elspeth hasn’t seen the grown girls since they were quite young or that she has been completely cut-off from Edie, their mother and her twin sister, for decades. Elspeth’s will provides a charming life for Julia and Valentina--the flat in the Highgate Cemetery district of London and ample financial resources. But the terms of the will are just the beginning of this gothic novel that explores the complex nature of twins, the possibility of life after death (yes, there’s a ghost), and the limitations of the human condition. According to the terms of the will, the twins must live in the flat for one year before they can consider selling it, their parents must never step foot inside Elspeth’s former residence, and the girls are never to see Elsepth’s correspondence or diaries.
Niffenegger has written a taut tale that turns into a true page-turner, especially in the final chapters. The fact that she’s produced a ghost story…or maybe more accurately, a story with a ghost, should come as no surprise. Just as she did with The Time Traveler’s Wife, Niffenegger stretches reality in Her Fearful Symmetry by introducing fantastical elements into the realm of everyday life.
The most enjoyable aspects of the book are the carefully-revealed personalities of the two sets of twins, Julia and Valentina and Edie and Elspeth, as well as the residents of the London flat who become as much as part of the twins’ lives as they were Elspeth’s. In particular, Niffenegger has done a beautiful job portraying Martin, the upstairs neighbor confined to his apartment by a debilitating case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The ensuing friendship between Martin and Julia provides a touching element and breathes life into Julia’s London existence. Downstairs from the girls lives Robert, Elspeth’s former lover and Highgate Cemetery historian and volunteer tour leader. He too befriends Valentina and Julia, bringing the lives of Elspeth and her nieces into complete symmetry with one another.
Of course, family secrets are revealed and quasi-romances ensue. Niffenegger’s writing feels so natural that I became totally lost in the characters and story. Even her handling of the appearance of the ghost and its ongoing presence in the story are handled with great ease. As impossible as it might seem, the ghost is quite credible.
With the weather turning to fall, Her Fearful Symmetry is a perfect choice for curling up by the fire, or in your favorite chair. Niffenegger’s writing is a pleasure, and this second novel certainly stands on its own. ~Wendee