Mademoiselle Chanel: A Novel by C. W. Gortner

Mademoiselle Chanel: A Novel. C. W. Gortner. William Morrow. Copyright 2015. Pb. 416 pp. ISBN #: 9780062356406.

Book received from France Book Tours for review:

http://francebooktours.com/
http://wordsandpeace.com

Famous artists frequently refuse to be defined, classified, or placed in society’s tidy box of approval.  Coco Chanel, renowned designer of classic clothing, accessories and perfume, is an enigmatic delight as depicted in this novel by perceptive and sensitive historical novelist, C. W. Gortner. 

Gabrielle’s parents are deeply in love but her paternal grandmother rejects Gabrielle’s mother.  Her mother in turn loves her daughter but says she is unable to live with her.  So searching and yearning for love followed by rejection seems to be a pattern that Gabrielle will follow until she meets the true love of her love, Arthur Capel or “Boy,” a relationship that is treasured because with it comes respect and treatment as an equal, competent professional woman.  The latter trait is not one encouraged in pre-WWII France but Gabrielle’s relationships yield financial and emotional freedom on her own terms. 

Thus begins an astonishing career in which Gabrielle begins her first shop where she is allowed to design everything but dresses.  Her styles, like the change in her name, jettison her into fame as a designer who isn’t afraid to risk her business for what she believes.  Cocoa often stated that women should dress elegantly, simply, sleekly, with some low-keyed jewelry or scarf accessories.  These were memorialized in the Chanel black suit, the sexy but simple black dress, and the famous Chanel No. 5 perfume that has solidly sold from its creation to the present.

Coco’s career conflicts and troubles are intimately described herein, some of which she handled with creative ideas and some which she lost and mourned.  Competition was fierce and even some of her own colleagues and workers tried to bring about her demise, literally by law and figuratively through slander. 

Although Coco was judged and demeaned as a Nazi collaborator, Gortner depicts her connection to the Nazi’s with a higher purpose and mysterious misunderstanding in covert circumstances that force the reader to suspend judgment.  The artist manages a comeback even after years of exile in Switzerland. 

While other writers have published their own books about Coco Chanel, C. W. Gortner has written a masterful portrait that is engaging and intriguing on every page celebrating Chanel’s intelligent, creative and beautiful clothing.  This reader was truly sad at the ending of this novel, an ending that mourns the passing of a passionate, brilliant, talented and incomparable woman.  Delightful historical fiction and so, so highly recommended!

Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini

Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule: A Novel.  Jennifer Chiaverini. Dutton. March 2015. 400 pp.  ISBN#: 9780525954295.

Julia Grant and her slave Jule vowed to let nothing separate them.  Both were blinded with their fondness for each other and staunchly declared their parents’ and peers’ warnings to be incorrect.   Time, however, changes so many things.  Julie falls in love with Ulysses S. Grant and is astonished at his family’s vociferous condemnation of slavery.  She naively believes that will change in time.  She never examines the condition of slaves, thinking that Julie has a good home, doesn’t work that hard and has a bond with Julia that other slaves lack. 

As the Civil War looms closer and closer, Ulysses is rising in the United States Army and travels constantly. Many of his strategies are described geographically and the reader grasps the tension accompanying each movement, win or loss. However, Julia is always allowed to accompany him, living in homes close to where he is stationed.  Jule begins to remain back at the Julia’s parents’, home and she falls in love with a slave who is an ardent freedom lover, determined to escape from his cruel bondage.  It is he who opens Jule’s eyes to the opportunities that escape would often.  A strangeness grows between Julia and Jule, but Julia fails to grasp the root of the change. 

Julia’s story evolves as her husband gains more glory and honor during the War and she meets famous Washington politicians and their spouses, including the temperamental Mrs. Lincoln whose fiery rampages confuse and frighten Julia.  The love between Ulysses and Julia is depicted as very special and very deep, nothing being allowed to separate them, including the jealous slandering that occurs with every successful battle.  When he is accused of being brutal in war, he simply states that war demands certain actions to not only guarantee success but to assert the principles that were a consequence of the South attempting to divide the United States.  History indeed tells the story from the point of view of the victor.

Due to Julia’s eye problems, Jule had been the eyes and ears of Mrs. Grant for years.  The problems with the lack of vision parallel her blindness to the approaching end of slavery, including Jule’s eventual escape and success as an accomplished hairdresser. Jule’s husband’s future is shocking but definitely real and no tribute to slave owners.  The reader awaits some kind of compromise and reunion between Julia and Jule, but reality instead deems that “happily ever after” scenario to be symbolic of the deep divisions that rule during and after the War.

Jennifer Chiaverini has once again crafted a novel that brooks no denial of the sufferings of the war, the harshness of slavery, the dreams and aspirations of slaves, the sacrifices demanded of the Grants.  Those who live in the path of the war suffer as well and at times the mercy of the Grants is seen in their response to the requests of widows and families of the “enemy.”  Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule is fine historical fiction that is sincere, intriguing, adventurous and passionate on every page. Well-written and researched, this reviewer highly recommends this novel for those who love accurate and suspenseful historical fiction!

Harcourt's Mountain by Elaine Dodge

Harcourt’s Mountain.  Elaine Dodge. Tirgearr Publishing. November 2013. 345 pp.  E-Book. ASIN#: B00EK0V2Y4.

Hope Booker has no memories of how she wound up knocked out and thrown into the lower level hold of a so-called “Bride” ship.  Not long after waking up with a huge bump on her head, she finds herself about to be auctioned off.  It’s really more like a slave auction than “bride” auction and it’s clear from those bidding for the women that they need a worker who clearly won’t live much longer after they are bought, abused, prostituted or enslaved.  The reader can feel Hope’s astonishment and fear as the bidding begins for her life’s services.

Luke Harcourt is a most unusual man and one wonders why he’s watching the bride auction as it seems he despises the business.  He’s a very tender yet strong guy whose sensitivity and compassion, as well as his quick perception about Hope being unable to survive the typical treatment accorded those who come off the bride ship are most unusual for a man in this 1867 British Columbian world. Anyone who lives here has to be very, very tough to survive. However, the trials and tribulations Hope and Luke are about to undergo leave the reader stunned!

Luke has promised he won’t touch Hope and obviously this is the story of how they fall in love. Hope is cautious initially and has to learn to trust Luke before that will turn to deep caring and love for him. Physical dangers are not the only threat to Hope’s survival; the animal and natural threats to these settler’s lives are present on every page which certainly captures the attention and total immersion into the story as one never stops wanting to flip the pages to find out what happens next!

Luke himself will be kidnapped onto a ship where his life will be in danger and it doesn’t seem like he will be able to escape from the evil, sadistic man who is planning Luke’s demise. To say more about the future of Hope and Luke would be a spoiler for sure!

Elaine Dodge has crafted a romance and a historical thriller novel that is ripe for those who thrive on adventures and evolving romance!!! Very nicely done, Ms. Dodge!

The Seventh Day of Light: A Novel - Part 1 - Shadows by Riccardo Bertora

The Seventh Day of Light – Part 1 - Shadows. Riccardo Bertora. Create Space Independent Publishing Forum. February 2015. 214 pp.  ISBN#: 9781507580943.

It’s 1958 and the race for the first manned space flight is in full gear.  Russia has already sent a dog into space in the Sputnik program.  The fact that that dog later died isn’t considered a blockade for future missions to outer space.  So it is that a choice for the first man to fly to space is made.  He is 24 years old, a child prodigy who has propelled into a role of leadership due to his remarkable intelligence, flight knowledge, military skills, and physical toughness.  The man chosen for this formidable, dangerous task is Sergei Federev and what he is about to undergo will leave the reader with mouth agape and more questions than answers!

Riccardo Bertora’s first novel in this planned series is the story of the explosion that would have killed any other human being instantly.  However, Sergei not only survives but finds himself completely healed and awake on a planet whose inhabitants are scientifically advanced and free of the strife that exists on Earth.  The story is replete with explanations of how disease and war have been obliterated.  Scientific explanations are vaguely offered, the only incredible aspect of this riveting novel, and Sergei goes so far as attempting to form a relationship of a woman.  Sergei eventually decides to return to Earth, no mean feat since this planet is in a different solar system and galaxy far, far from the Milky Way we know.

As much attention is given to the Cold War and Russia’s secretive, absolute decisions as the science fiction end of the novel.   At first on his return Sergei is not believed but then the plot goes sinister as he disappears and is being hunted by the government.  Will or won’t he survive his new fugitive status?  Will he live or die?

Except for the very vague scientific explanations about eradicating war and how the inhabitants of this strange planet give birth, The Seventh Day of Light is a fascinating read about a topic that intrigues most human beings.  Bertora has done a good job with imagining what life might be like on other planets far from our limited understanding.  Nicely done science fiction/fantasy!

Meadowlands by Elizabeth Jeffrey

Meadowlands.  Elizabeth Jeffrey. Severn House Publishers. April 2015. 224 pp.  ISBN#: 9780727884695.

Here’s another story about the ups and downs of WWI centered in the Barsham family.  They are aristocrats who cannot remain immune from the hardships and horrors to come, although Lady Adelaide does nothing but complain about how inconvenienced she is by losing staff and not having someone to fawn on her every wish.  Sir George Barsham is a Minister of Parliament who uses any excuse to be away from home.  The Barsham children all agree to “do their part” with James off to fight in the military, Millie to drive an ambulance to transport the wounded and dying, and Gina who starts a soup kitchen for the wives and children of soldiers who are off in Flanders fighting for King and country.

So what makes this novel different from the hundreds of other stories that have memorialized the causes and effects of this devastating war?  The first lies in the fact that England did everything possible to woo every male into fighting in Flanders but failed to take care of their spouses and children.  No salary or even part of a salary was sent to spouses and the families of wounded men received no recompense for their part in serving in the war.  The result was devastating poverty and Gina becomes not only soup kitchen director but also advocate for the needs of these present or former military families.

The second concerns the quiet but awful custom of committing pregnant young ladies into houses of insanity, followed by having to give up their babies and forever live in the deplorable conditions of their home.  Cruelty and ill treatment are described with disarming clarity.

The upshot is that this so-called “war to end all wars” had devastating physical, mental and emotional results that bear telling and remembering.  Elizabeth Jeffrey does so with sensitivity, accuracy and passion! There is so much more than what is described above which makes delightful reading! Well done historical fiction, indeed!

The Second Sister by Marie Bostwick

The Second Sister.  Marie Bostwick. Kensington Press.  March 2015. 353 pp. pb. ISBN # 9780758269300. 

Lucy Toomey has been living the fast-paced, whirling life of a Washington insider as the campaign assistant of a Presidential candidate.  Working umpteen hours a day, her diet and her clothing style have suffered dramatically.  She has no life outside of this job. The only reminder that she once had such a life is in the middle of the night telephone calls from her sister, Alice.  Alice keeps Lucy up to date on the occurrences in her home town of Nilson’s Bay in Wisconsin but every topic is interrupted with Alice’s plea that Lucy return home for Christmas.  Lucy has few good memories of her time in that town but promises finally to come home for Christmas to her mentally challenged sister.  That promise happens but not in the way Lucy expects. For a day before the election, Lucy receives a call that her sister has been found dead from an overdose of drugs.

It’s Lucy’s boss, soon to be President-elect, who insists that Lucy return to Wisconsin for the funeral and for at least a month after that.  Lucy had insisted the same for him after a family loss and now he demands she do the same, not only to mourn but to think about what is really important in life before she returns to work for him after he is sworn in as President of the United States.  Return Lucy does and at first has trouble dealing with her mourning and all the friends of Alice who treat her like the person who abandoned her sister. 

The day of the funeral Lucy discovers her sister had earlier planned and written a very carefully plotted will that means Lucy must remain in Wisconsin for a time or lose the inheritance of the cottage where Alice lived, a place left to her by their parents.  This then is the story of how Lucy begins to remember the better times in her past and focuses on the things that truly give lasting pleasure and meaning to life. 

It’s a lovely engaging story that never lags with fascinating people and places in this small Wisconsin town.  Romance may lie ahead for persons and other activities that Lucy never believed she could come to hold dear, but she gets the chance to see things a different way.  That makes all the difference in the world, in Lucy’s world, a world she comes to share and see as Alice did!

Very nicely crafted, Ms. Bostwick!

Rhode Island Red: The Nanette Hayes Mystery Book 1 by Charlotte Carter

Rhode Island Red: The Nanette Hayes Mystery Book 1.  Charlotte Carter. Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller.  January 2015. 179 pp. e-book. ASIN #: B00QN352W4.

One can picture Nanette playing sultry jazz tunes outside of anywhere she can park in Manhattan, New York.  Although she’s a French major, she knows she’s not a very good jazz musician but she worships the music of the greats, especially Thelonious Monk and others of his ilk.  Her life is difficult as people leave little change in her sax case but is about to become terrifying after she decides to let a fellow sax player named Sig come home with her.  He tells her he’ll help her find all the hot spots where she can earn a great living and maybe they can even jam together for the public.  Whatever is she doing taking a white man home to her apartment, a stranger at that?

The next morning, Nanette awakens to find Sig dead on the floor of her living room.  A rough, tough black cop verbally works over Nanette believing she is the murderer but having no proof.  He leaves but promises to return and so he does many times in the course of this mystery.  After he leaves the first time, Nanette finds $60,000 socked up in Sig’s sax case.  In the pages that follow with Nanette attempting to decide whether to turn over the money to the police, keep the money, give it to acquaintances in need, she begins to unravel the twisted connections of those connected to Sig.  Nanette gets a bit battered up in the process of her journey.

These scenes involving Sig’s girlfriend, other musicians, etc. are very moving and work very well in drawing the reader into total immersion in this all too brief story.  In fact, even though Nanette is a ball of fear-filled nervousness, her determination to continue to the source of this crime causes many tension-ridden moments right up to the dramatic solution of this horrific crime!

The term “Rhode Island Red” is the heart of this well-crafted thriller, a story that is intriguing and highly recommended reading for readers who love a story in which to lose one’s self.