March Books

I completed seven books during the month of march. To see the seventh book review, see below. Not one author was American! It's sometimes sad how obvious my preferences are.

First up for the month was Jane Austen's Emma in my quest to read any and all of Austen. Emma Woodhouse fancies herself quite the matchmaker, although her success rate is fairly low. She encounters many misunderstandings and embarrassing situations before she realizes that she's basically being a brat and needs to think before meddling into other peoples' lives. This was not my favorite Austen novel. I found Emma kind of annoying (yes, even more than Fanny.) I did like Mr. Knightley and found this book more comical than others and enjoyed the happy ending, but I just didn't enjoy the overall story as much as her other works. This obviously has nothing to do with her writing style and is based solely on personal preference for the other novels, as I know a lot of people who enjoy this one. It is definitely my least favorite Austen novel, but in all honesty, really none of her novels can be classified as "bad."

Continuing with another favorite author, Philip Pullman, I read the third book in the Sally Lockhart series, The Tiger in the Well. Sally is a single mother and also independent (she's a financial advisor) in Victorian England, which was almost unheard of at the time. Her life is great until one day she receives divorce papers from a man she's never heard of and has all the proof to show they were married. This not only places her in jeopardy, but her child as well. With her best friends in South America, she's left to fight her own battle. This is my favorite book in the series. Sally is chased all over London and forced to disguise herself and really use her wits to make things work. The ending is fantastic and suspenseful and I can't wait to see how they adapt this book to the small screen. This is the last book in the series to focus mainly on Sally. This was also the longest book in the series, but for me, the quickest read.

My last full novel by Jane Austen was Persuasion. Anne Elliot is a 27 year old single girl well on her way to becoming a spinster. In her youth, she fell in love with a navy officer, Frederick Wentworth, but was persuaded to not marry him by her father and a family friend. Years later the well decorated Captain Wentworth returns when his sister and brother lease Anne's house (her father was a spend-thrift after her mother died and the family, sans Anne who joins them later, moves to Bath.) Anne finds herself again in the same company as the captain. I loved Anne. She's reserved and thoughtful, yet refuses to make the same mistakes twice. This, along with Pride and Prejudice rank as my favorite Austen novels. Persuasion seems to evoke more serious and quieter moods than her earlier works. I'm not a very romantic person, but this novel takes the cake for the best love letter ever written. I highly recommend this novel to any reluctant Austen readers.

Rounding out the Sally Lockhart series is The Tin Princess. This book features characters from the first three books, and we finally get to find out what happened to the little girl who disappeared in The Ruby in the Smoke. Adelaide is forced to move to a strange land when her husband's brother dies. She is transported, along with a native translator and her old friend and detective Jim, to a small fictional country located somewhere near Germany and Austria. After the death of her father-in-law, her husband becomes the king and Adelaide becomes the "cockney queen." When her husband is assassinated during the crowning ceremony, Adelaide is left to perform a ritual flag bearing walk up a hill by herself in order to become the ruler of the country. As the new queen, she is constantly in danger not only from Austria and Germany, but from citizens as well who have their own plans for the country. This book was action packed and I enjoyed it, although not as much as the first three books.

Sadly, I moved on to my last Austen reads. Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon are three unfinished works. The first two were written early and in the middle of her writing career and Sanditon was written right before she died of Addison's disease. While I found Lady Susan quite annoying, I really liked Sanditon until it abruptly ended. It's sad that she got so sick at the end and wasn't able to finish it or other novels, but perhaps less is more, and we should appreciate what she did complete.

My last read for the month of March was my first ever Agatha Christie! I've been waiting to read a mystery authored by her for a while now, and I thought it appropriate to begin with her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The narrator, Hastings, is just back from the war when he meets his friend John Cavendish who invites him to come and stay at his mother Emily Cavendish's home, Styles. After running into his Belgian detective friend, Hercule Poirot, Emily dies during the middle of the night, apparently poisoned. Hastings immediately enlists Poirot to solve the mystery. There are many shady characters from Emily's gold digger of a husband to John's wife Mary, which keeps the reader guessing until the last minute. I like Agatha Christie and will slowly over time, continue to read the books.

On the plate for April is a bunch of Once Upon a Time books and various YA reads. I'm excited.