5 comments about The Queen of Whale Cay: The Eccentric Story of 'Joe' Carstairs, Fastest Woman on Water.

1. Joe Carstairs comes off as a fascinating study of what it was like to be a moneyed lesbian somewhat outside the usual literary lesbians of the early 20th century. There aren't many stories about these women, and we can certainly use more.
   
   Alas, Carstair's definitive biography is yet to be written. Summerscale uses Freudian analysis-- badly-- and literary allusions-- somewhat better-- to illustrate who and what Carstairs was about. Summerhill basically creates a book that is about 50 years behind the time it was written. It would help if Summerscale had any actual clue about lesbian culture and cultural theory, but it seems she'd rather turn Carstairs into a freak instead of exploring her as an outsider.
   
   The most egregious example of this is early on in the book, in which she talks about how Carstairs "rejects her feminity to reinvent herself." You can't reject what you don't have in the first place. Grounding the biography firmly in the mistaken beleif that a female body will naturally be feminine creates a caricature of Carstairs rather than the fully human characterization she deserves.
   
   This is worth reading, but it's worth reading with a very critical eye on Summerscale's clunky writing and outdated analysis.



2. Kate Summerscale stumbled onto a treasure trove when she was asked in the 12990s to write the obituary for a British daily for M. B. "Joe" Carstairs, an eccentric Standard Oil heiress who had set speedboating records in the 1920s and who literally ruled her own Bahamian island for several decades, not only paying all the inhabitants directly out of her pocket but also establishing their rules and punishments. Carstairs also was one of the great lesbian lovers of the twentieth century, having affairs with dozens of beautiful actresses including Greta Garbo and Tallulah Bankhead--and to top off everything, was obsessed with a small leather manikin she named "Lord Tod Watley" and took with her everywhere, proclaiming him the great love of her life. The material is so terrific that this slim little biography can't help but be a fun read, but the book is held back tremendously by Summerscale's amateurish writing style, which consists of endless flatly declarative sentences and which rarely uses transitions between new ideas. Clearly Summerscale is quite erudite (her allusions to Woolf and Djuna Barnes are not only illuminating but actually quite clever), but the prose was a real drawback to what would have been otherwise a terrific tale.



3. On paper, this book sounds fabulous. A rich, beautiful lesbian lives a scandalous life filled with excitement, traveling around the world, meeting lots of famous people, and making love to dozens of willing female partners. Imagine a Howard Stern sex epic with a sumptuous budget and a Merchant Ivoery feel!
   
   Kay Summerscale does a very professional job as a biographer. Unfortunately, the story is not that exciting. Yes, Joe Carstairs was a rich lesbian, and a rebel, but she was not in any sense a "fun" person. She was apparently some kind of borderline schizophrenic. All she could do to act "manly" was to throw screaming tantrums, smoke, spit and swear. Not an attractive personality. The whole thing with carrying the little doll around for 60 years comes across as sick, not funny or charming.
   
   Read the book for the sumptuous settings and try to imagine someone glamorous, like Gloria Holden (from the lesbian classic DRACULA'S DAUGHTER)having the same adventures, but in a fun way.



4. I saw this slim volume in the store and was fascinated by the picture on the cover - a woman dressed as a man with a little battered doll on her shoulder - "what in the world is this?" So, I started to read. What a surprise. This is the story of Marion "Joe" Carstairs, a Standard Oil heiress, a champion speed boat driver, friend to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, an unrepentant lesbian, owner of the Caribbean isalnd Whale Cay, and the constant companion of Lord Todd Wadley (yes, a funny little doll). This is one of the most immediately engaging books I've ever read. What a character she was, and what a life she led. "The Queen of Whale Cay" is an absolute charmer from start to finish. Looking for a little slice of forgotten history to while a way some time? This is the book for you.



5. Nonconformist is an understatement. Eccentric isn't outre enough. Over-the-top words do not adequately describe Marion "Joe" Carstairs. She was a breakneck ambulance driver in World War I France, a world record-holding speedboat racer, the supreme ruler of her own Bahamian island, and pal to notables such as the Duchess of Windsor, Tallulah Bankhead, and Marlene Dietrich.

   Assigned to write an obituary of "Joe" Carstairs for the London Daily Telegraph, Kate Summerscale soon became fascinated by the woman who held sway in the 1920's as heiress to the Standard Oil fortune. This singular individual wore men's clothing meticulously tailored for her on Saville Row, favored female lovers, was tenaciously devoted to a small leather doll whom she christened Lord Tod Wadley, and managed to thumb her nose at almost every convention.

   As Ms. Summerscale unearthed more and more amazing information about her extraordinary subject, she determined to carry her findings far beyond a terse death notice. The result is The Queen Of Whale Cay, a buoyant, highly readable biography that became a London Times bestseller and nominee for the Whitbread Biography of the Year Prize.

   Estranged from her parents and disliked by a step-father, young "Joe" was sent to boarding school in America. Of this time her diary only records, "Left family aged 11." At the age of 16 she drove ambulances in France, where "Paris was heavily shelled....whole sides of houses fell down and people lay bleeding in the streets."

   Returning to London after the war, "replenished, brimming with vigour and ambition," "Joe" and some friends opened a chauffeuring service, and took on "any driving work, far and near."

   Galvanized by machines and speed, in 1925 Joe used her wealth "to commission the best motorboat money could buy." She was a daredevil on water, competing in races in Britain, Cannes and Detroit, where she vied with the famous Gar Wood.

   Yet, racing was not enough. She sought even greater challenges by leaving England in 1934 to rule and reside on Whale Cay, the Bahamian island she purchased for $40,000. Upon arriving she found the only inhabitants were a black couple who tended the lighthouse. "Joe asked them whether they lit the beacon every night, and they replied, to her amusement, "Only when the weather's good."

   She worked alongside laborers to lay a road from one end of the island to another. A store was built, and a large hole dug then filled with blocks of ice for refrigeration. Her home, the Great House, was constructed with the help of 300 men. It was a "sturdy Spanish villa, white, with red tiles..." From there she had dominion over a colony of 500 Bahamians, and entertained friends from throughout the world.

   During the 1960's, as Bahamians became increasingly independent, the atmosphere on Whale Cay changed, and "Joe" retreated to Miami. In 1975 she sold the island for approximately 1 million dollars. Three years later, deciding she'd had enough of women, she invited a handsome older man to move in with her. Hugh Harrison "stayed with her as a friend and paid companion until she died." In 1993 "Joe" and Wadley were cremated together.

   Generous, outrageous, at times a bold prankster, "Joe" Carstairs defies description. Her life defies fiction. The Queen of Whale Cay is intriguing reading, a candid portrait of a nonpareil, an incorrigible, unconquerable 20th century woman.

   - Gail Cooke

5 comments about The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn.

1. From all the books I've ready about Anne Boleyn, this is by the far the best in all aspects. Ives really gives the reader an inside glimpse as to who Anne Boleyn was and not just known as the second Queen of England that brought down Katherine of Aragon and was beheaded. I would recommend this book highly to any avid readers of Tudor history. Excellent, factual and well-researched!



2. Eric Ives's book about Anne Boleyn is absolutely the best study of her life and death I have ever read -- and I've read quite a few. Finally, Henry VIII's rejection of his "entirely beloved wife" makes sense, given the whole story of Anne's involvement with the religious reformers; the factions at court; and the loss of power that Thomas Cromwell faced because of her. Ives's depiction of Cromwell's engineering of Anne's arrest reads like a thriller. It was not as simple as Henry's wandering eye and Anne's "miscarriage of her savior". A very complex and moving book.
   
   Caitlin Scott-Turner
   (author, The Queen's Fencer)The Queen's Fencer



3. I think that this book was very infomative. I didn't need to do anymore research to find the answers I was looking for. This book had it all.



4. It has been very tempting for many Boleyn biographers to paint Anne as a feminist icon and victim of male power. It has been equally tempting in other generations to paint her as a conniving, power hungry witch who brought about her own donwfall and whose only value was sex-object and mother of one of England's greatest rulers. The truth one might rightly suspect lies somewhere in the middle. Ives gives us enough information-- at times, too much-- to find that middle ground, exploring not just Anne's family and social roots but the development of her tastes, values and beliefs. There can be no doubt Anne did plenty of scheming and had a thirst for prestige and power, and did not hesitate to wield it once she had it. But she was also a highly educated, engaging and interesting Renaissance woman, bringing the sophistications of the Continental Renaissance to the English court, a court which was in many ways, still Medieval in a world that had long passed into the era of "New Learning" and scientific exploration. There are rather extensive lists of her belongings, friends, writings, but that is what one would expect in a thorough study such as this (the most thorough yet done in all likelihood). Some of these listings might be better suited to an appendix rather than contained in the text but that was for editors to decide and one assumes they made their choices for informed reasons. And throught this dense documentation Anne emerges not as a stock Renaissance Comedia character, colored of one mood or dimension, but as a complex human being with the same appetites as any of us. And like any of us she is by turns infuriating, admirable, pitiable, likeable and annoying. In the end she proves tragic, but brave: after being offered a way out of her death sentence by the king himself, she goes to the scaffold and the swordsman rather than disinherit her blood and admit to any wrongdoing. If you've an interest in this period, and in this Court in particular, this is a biography worth owning.



5. It is impossible for me to ignore the impressive amount of scholarship, reasearch, time, thought, and effort that went into this book. Mr. Ives has no doubt done a service to Anne Boleyn Scholars. HOwever, the book is nearly impossible to read. Mr Ive's introduces many ancedotes into his narratives, which he then proceeds to argue are apocryphal, and then sometimes states they could be true after all. This makes it hard to understand his point, especially when he repeateadly uses words like might, perhaps, and maybe. But the worse thing about this book is that ignores, or dismisses other respectable scholarship on his subject matter as, "nonsene." He sometimes presents things as history, which are as a point of fact a matter of scholarly debate, and the footnotes demonstrate that his arguments are not always as sound as he would make them appear.
   Most specifically he dismisses the work of Harvard scholar Reetha M. Warnicke, who wrote a fascinating biography of the same subject called, "The Life and Death of ANne Boleyn." He needs to tell us when historical ideas are in dispute. His language can also be pretentious at times. (E.g. the repeated use of the word of rusticated.)

5 comments about My Country Right or Left 1940-1943: The Collected Essays Journalism & Letters of George Orwell (Collected Essays Journalism and Letters of George Orwell).

1. This is my first volume of essays, articles and letters by Blair/Orwell, which I read thanks to Jim Egolf's recent review here. The man contradicts himself quite a bit, but I do not regret the time spent. Who wants to get bored by people that one always agrees with?
   The main theme of the book, due to the time of the sample, is England in war with totalitarianism/fascism/nazism. Though Orwell was in his heart a leftist, he had enough insight from own experience to understand the nature of totalitarianism, he was a dedicated anti-Stalinist, and he staid away from party politics.
   And yet: his long essay 'The Lion and the Unicorn', one of the core texts of this book, gives a political vision, that puzzles me. He displays a surprising naivete about the strength of economic planning in socialism. Of course, we have the benefit of hindsight, we know that a central planning bureaucracy can be the right approach for a short term effort, like for a war, but will be hopelessly lost in inefficiencies in 'normal' times. Orwell was deeply convinced that state capitalism or socialism was the future, there would be no return after the war.
   I have decided to ignore his political recipes, but to enjoy his social analyses: England is a rich man's paradise, but the ruling class is too stupid to run the country.
   One of his main contributions to our understanding of the confict of the time: his juxtaposition of the ideology of hedonism (which nearly led the West into the abyss) against the ideology of social sacrifice, which helped the Nazis to succeed, luckily only temporarily.
   I wonder if he fully understood the real antagonism of Hitler to the West or if he got deceived by the temporary diversion of the pact with Stalin. (I notice when I browse the reviews and comments in this neighborhood that there is a certain willingness to say, the West should have gone with Hitler against the Soviets. Oh my, what a misunderstanding.) Probably he did. In a nice remark after the German attack on Russia he says, had this happened before the Hitler-Stalin pact, there was a chance of serious political disturbance in Britain, because the ruling class might have wanted to join the attack on Germany's side.
   My favorite text in the collection is the essay on H.G.Wells' inability to understand Hitler. Wells was the man who envisaged scientific progress against reactionary societies earlier in the century. He was unable to understand that Hitler's essentially irrational and superstitious ideology was capable of an efficient alliance with the other side of science.



2. This book is an anthology of Orwell's essays, literary criticism, letters to friends,and political criticism. Those who read this book can read some interesting letters that Orwell wrote to the editors of THE PARTISAN REVIEW on the fortunes of W.W. II involving the British. The book concludes with Orwell's diary of the war. While George Orwell (1903-1950)was a self admitted "leftist," he was not an ideologue. Orwell showed that he was a well read individual and knew very well that political labels conceal the desire for political power regardless of political titles and party affilations.
   
   Orwell was a master of literary criticism. Two examples are his review and comments on Hitler's MEIN KAMPF and Tolstoy's denounciation of Shakespear. Orwell commented that an English review of Mein Kampf favaored the German dictator. Orwell correctly predicted such praise would soon evaporate which it did. Orwell informed readers that praise for Hitler was not unusal. One must note that Churchill complimented Hitler in Churchill's book titled GREAT CONTEMPORARIES. Churchill also complimented Hitler in a speech to Parliament in November, 1938. Here Orwell shows not only his ability as a literary critic, but he informs younger readers that the political disapproval word,fascism, had a different connotation. Many Europeans including the British middle and upper classes had serious concerns of Big Communism with its record of mass murder and concentration camp brutality.
   
   Orwell showed himself again as a literary critic when Orwell critisized Tolstoy for the latter's condemnation of William Shakespear. Orwell correctly refuted Tolstoy on a couple of issues. First, Tolstoy read Shakespear in translation which may have tainted his understanding of Shakespear. Also Tolstoy tried to condemn Shakespear in lieu of Tolstoy's social philosophy. Orwell stated such criticism was useless because such criticism would have been incomprehensible to Shakespear and his English contemporaries in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Orwell also chided Tolstoy for his assumed superiority. Tolstoy could not understand why Shakespear literary work was so appealing and wrote that everyone should know that Shakespear was some sort of scoundral. Yet, Orwell wryly comments that Shakespear's literay work was available throughout the world while Orwell could not find Tolstoy's essay until he found it in a museum.
   
   The best part of this Orwell anthology are his political essays. Orwell noted that there was suppose to be a bitter political divide betwen Fascism and Big Communism. When the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in 1939 unhinged this concept and angered Communists and their fellow travellers. When asked about this unexpected turn of diplomatic events, Molotov (I believe it was Molotov) who said that the difference between Socialism (Bib Communism) and Fascism was a matter of taste. Approximately two years later when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, this view sure changed. Orwell stated that Stalin and his supporters would have called themselves Fascists if they thought such a label would enhance their power. Hitler and his supporters would have done the same. Orwell clearly indicated that men who have concentrated power will use whatever political labels to keep or enhance their complete hold on power.
   
   Orwell used the political chaos both inside the Soviet Union and in Europe to sound a serious warning that literature could be lost because of the rapid changes in political loyalties. The sudden changes in internal enemis in the Soviet Union serves as a classic example. The heros of the Workers' Paradise were concentration camp victims the next day because they could not stay current with ruling party's changing enemy's list. The Non-Aggtression Pact mentioned above is another good example. Orwell reflected that in previous centuries, literary men (an women)had "a frame of reference." Their political and religious loyalties were stable from cradle to grave. However, given the rapidly changing of enemies, literary figures had no such stability and writing could be dangerous especially in the Soveit Union where writers were either sent to concentration camps or committed suicide. Had Orwell lived longer, he would have been pleased to see such Soviet writers as Boris Pasternak (DR. ZHIVAGO) and Alexander Solzhenitsyn who surived the Soviet purges and yet were awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In fact, Solzhenitsyn sent ten years in a Soviet concentration camp from which he emerged as a literary giant. Orwell did suggest that totalitarian thought control could not survive the spirit and soul of thoughtful men.
   
   Among Orwell's many talents was his ability to expose political hypocrisy. Many of the British leaders were demanding that Mussolini be charged for "war crimes." Orwell scoffed at this nonsense. Orwell cearly indicated to his readers that those British leaders who demanded such "war crimes" trials against Mussolini were exactly the same British leaders who ten years previously praised Mussoini for the acts they now wanted to charge as war crimes. Orwell had a solid memory, and when Mussolini moved against the Communists and aided Franco in the Spanish Civil War, many of the same British leaders who wanted to try Mussolini for "war crimes," praised him for his actions which they awkardly tried to define as war crimes ten years later. Among those who praised Mussolini in the 1920s-1930s included Churchill.
   
   In parts of the book Orwell showed himself as a military expert. When there were threats of a possible German invasion, Orwell had practical suggestions of arming the British citizen with the most practicle weapons. Orwell fought in the Spanish Civil War and volunteered for W.W. II, but illness kept out of that conflict. Orwell also took pride in his position in the Home Guard.
   
   This reviewer has one criticism. Orwell's letters to the PARTISAN REVIEW, political essays, literary criticism, etc. should have been arranged by topic rather than by time sequence. This would enable readers to easily read the book. However, this reviewer could not have done nearly as good a job. Orwell simply enhanced his position as a great novelist, literary critic, political thinker, and excellent prose writer. Readers would to well to read this book to have a better understanding of the war years (W.W II) than is presented in badly written textbooks and popular accounts. This reviewer highly recommends this book.



3. For years, I have been impressed by the quality of the essays in Dickens, Dali, and Others, Shooting an Elephant, and Such, Such Were the Joys. I was looking forward to reading more of Orwell's essays. I soon discovered, however, that Orwell's essays not published in book form shared all the faults of those that I had read, but few of the virtues.
   
   Many cite Orwell's honesty as his primary virtue, but these essays reveal a man who is, if not dishonest, then at least quite blind to his own experiences. He states, without any supporting evidence, that "only Socialist nations can fight effectively" (p. 67, from The Lion and the Unicorn), despite the fact that he served in an army organized along socialist lines (as narrated on p. 255), if not the army of a socialist nation, five years prior to the publication of this statement; the army was defeated decisively by Generalissimo Franco's decidedly non-socialist forces.
   
   Orwell also frequently resorts to name-calling. Those who disagree with him politically are almost invariably "reactionaries", "Fascists", or "pro-Fascist". Jack London is "not . . . a fully civilised man."; rather, he possesses a "streak of savagery". Any thought, expression, or even word of which Orwell disapproves is "vulgar", from the cartoon postcards of Donald McGill to Kipling's statement that "He travels the fastest who travels alone" to Yeats's use of the word (!) "loveliness" (Orwell also claims that "Yeats's tendency is Fascist." on p. 273).
   
   It is clear to me after reading this volume that the editors who selected pieces for the three volumes of essays published during Orwell's lifetime made the right choices; they show him at his best. The rest of the material here is hardly worth reading except as a window into the soul of a man who was incapable of viewing the world except through the distorting lens of a commitment to socialism.



4. ...Country Right or Left is part of a four volume set of essays commissioned by Orwell's wife Sonia. Whatever the criticisms that have been made of her stewardship of Orwell's legacy, these four volumes contain much of the best of Orwell's essays, letters and diary excerpts. This volume covers the early war years and much of the writing is shaded by that war.

   This is Orwell at his finest, on one hand a confirmed socialist dedicated to fighting the right whether the Tory party or fascism; one the other hand an anti-Stalinist and critic of the left and always an anti-totalitarian.

   Contained within "My Country Right or Left" is some of Orwell's best writing. In "Pacifism and the War", a notorious piece at the time, he accuses pacifists of aiding the fascist cause. "The Art of Donald McGill" is an essay about, of all things, postcards that are popular among the middle and lower classes. The postcards themselves, Orwell argues, say much about England's political and social attitudes. It's actually a perceptive piece of pop art and social commentary. Among my favorites is the essay concerning Mark Twain (Mark Twain- Licensed Jester). Orwell, a great admirer of Twain's, is critical of him for not being forceful enough in his social criticism. He accusation is that Twain pulls his punches far too often. It's a great piece of criticism and is Orwell at his finest.

   What holds a large amount of this Volume together are the letters to the Partisan Review, a New York publication that contracted with Orwell to write commentary on England during this early war period. The issues vary from English politics, reflections on the clothing worn by the masses, attitudes towards democracy and so on. All well written, never dull and very often wrong in their predictions. There is much more here including excerpts from his diary, letters to other major figures of the day and reflections on the Spanish Civil War.

   This is some of the greatest essay writing in the English language. Even sixty years later the essay's read clearly and give insight to Orwell's thinking.




5. This is a great collection of essays and other writers by one of the foremost socialist critics of totalitarianism and domination. It is also a great book for admires of writers such as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn and Edward said, as all share the same overarching purpose: to be a tireless critic of power and domination wherever it may be found. It is ironic to the extreme that so many conservative revisionists attempt to claim Orwell as their own, which is due to the tragically myopic misreading of his writings, especailly 1984 and Animal Farm. Both books are condemnations of totalitarianism, and in the case of Animal farm, the final page attests to Orwell's repugnance of capitalism. Let it not be forgotten that Orwell fought in the Spanish Civil War in the aid of the socialist-anarchists. This is truly a great collection, which should be required reading for those who may not be familar with Orwell's non-fiction work.

3 comments about George Orwell: An Age Like This 1920-1940: The Collected Essays, Journalism & Letters (Collected Essays Journalism and Letters of George Orwell).

1. In a way, Orwell's reports on English poverty in the 1930s are an update on F.Engels's solid and shocking study on the situation of England's working class nearly a hundred years before. (Engels was not only Marx's financier, he contributed major works himself. His place among communist icons is of a different quality from later politicians like Lenin, Stalin etc. His book on the working class was straightforward sociology and it wrote history.) However Orwell was not a scientist, his texts remain journalism and he devoted less time to it in total, though his personal commitment while it lasted was breathtaking. He lived it. He lived with them, his subjects. I am of split mind about that.
   I am not sure that I think all that highly of Orwell as a reporter. There is something missing. He remains strangely aloof, there seems to be little passion, little empathy, little sympathy, but a certain condescension and impatience with the victims of circumstances.
   His reports and analyses on the situation in Spain are of a different caliber. They are a passionate attempt to explain the conflicts inside the Republican, anti-Franco camp to whoever wanted to listen. As we know from history, it was useless.
   The book is a guide through parts of European history, written by a contemporary observer. Letters help understand the personal situation of the writer. Reviews add to our understanding of the man more than of the reviewed books.
   Some of his reviews would be smash hits here in Amazon, e.g. the one on Mumford's Melville bio. Less popular might be his aside that Conrad's genius is proven by the fact that women don't like his books. He had a hard time figuring out Henry Miller, who was something new, but if he was something good was not so easy to decide. (He does shed some more light on himself here by mentioning that birth and copulation are disgusting subjects. Odd, isn't it? But maybe the usual for the time.)
   And there is an excellent long essay on Dickens, the greatness and the shortcomings of the great novelist. This text motivates me to go on with the volumes 3 and 4 of the set. The man had a lot to say, even if I don't like all of what he says.



2. I'm not going to review all four volumes of this collection separately; what I say below applies to them all.

   There are lots of reasons to read Orwell's letter, essays and journalism:

   1. He's a great writer. It's a pleasure to read him, just for entertainment value. There's a little piece of doggerel from Orwell's school days that he quotes several times that is now stuck in my head:

   The rain it raineth every day
   Upon the just and the unjust fella
   But more upon the just because
   The unjust has the just's umbrella

   I don't know why that sticks with me, but it's a great illustration of Orwell's use of solid, colloquial and even humorous English.

   Moreover, in addition to providing wonderful model prose he occasionally writes essays about writing and language (the use of "Basic English", oratorical versus conversational English, what drives a writer, the totalitarian perversion of word meanings, etc.), which are insightful and interesting.

   2. If you're interested in the Second World War (or for that matter, the Spanish Civil War), Orwell's writings amount to a sort of diary, a primary document. Even his book reviews almost inevitably contain some reference to the political and historical scene.

   3. Orwell loved socialism (yes, the man who write _1984_ was a democratic socialist), but he loved freedom more. His simultaneous battle for socialism and against totalitarianism (i.e., the Soviet Union) is engaging, even -- or maybe particularly -- where he drops the ball.

   ...

   I think Orwell's heart was in the right place -- he had seen close up (and written a good deal about) the suffering of the poor. Like many people who have their hearts in the right place, he jumped immediately to the idea that redistribution of private property and collective ownership of the means of production were the only way forward.

   On the other hand, he was a writer and a man of ideas, a person who greatly prized personal freedom. His essays give an intriguing glimpse into the battle raging inside him between collectivism and individual liberty.




3. I read this set many years ago, and it's great. There were better novelists, but Orwell was the best 20th Century essayist, at least in English, that I know of. Together with "Down and Out in Paris and London," "Homage to Catalonia," and "The Road to Wigan Pier," these four large volumes comprise the best of Orwell's nonfiction. As an essayist, Orwell was consistently clearminded, idealistic, honest and to the point. He is a pleasure to read, and he is one of my intellectual heroes.

   I don't have a copy in front of me as I write this, but I'm pretty sure this first volume contains Orwell's unforgettable essays on the inner life of colonialism, "Shooting an Elephant" and "A Hanging". I highly recommend this set to anyone who is the least bit interested in Orwell.

5 comments about The Pirate Queen: Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire.

1. The essence of any writing goes back to the basics: who, what, where, when, and why. Ronald does well on all but the most important: how. There is a "story" in "history." George Santayana said: "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." It is the story of how something was done--or not--that can give us the perspective to make different choices when faced with similar challenges.
   
   By cleaving to the academic viewpoint of chronicling all the who, what, and when, we are presented with everything we need to regurgitate on an exam to prove that we studied, but Ronald hasn't made us wiser. Every time the story is about to pick up, Ronald halts it abruptly with an inventory of booty, or a list of persons involved with a given enterprise. This book is like driving with one foot firmly pressed on the accelerator pedal while the other foot just as firmly presses the brakes.
   
   The book ends, appropriately for the author, with John Dee's list of 13 criteria for creating the "Petty Navy Royal" and a list of "typical treasure" carried by the flota back to Spain. Ronald undoubtedly knows the subject matter.
   
   Historians such as Joseph Ellis and David McCullough have raised the bar by bringing history to life. By being part of the experience, we learn much more both about history and ourselves. In this way, studying history makes us better people. It was McCullough who said: "No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read." Wanting to read history is the first step in the journey; a lesson Ronald should take note of.



2. I agree with one of the other reviewers that the writing style is kind of amateurish and that the writer frequently re-crosses the same ground. However, I liked how the author followed Elizabeth's difficult and dangerous task of navigating her weak nation through treacherous times with the help of her pirates. I found her habit of constantly translating the value of everything into modern day values (dollars and pounds sterling)irritating. Also think that readers looking for alot on sea battles or naval nuances will be disappointed. Not a bad book but not a great one either.



3. I don't know all the literature on this era, but I expect that Ronald's achievement is not in unearthing new information, but in putting it all together. The general works on Elizabeth and this period present pirates and piracy in piecemeal fashion and Elizabeth's benefits as serendipitous. This book shows that piracy was wed into her foreign policy as much or more than her marriage possibilities, which garner considerably more attention in books for the general reader and in film.
   
   The author brings together the internal and external politics of England, the economy, the religious issues, the excitement of discovery, the role of court favorites, and shows piracy as a thread running through it all. The book has provoked my thinking and given me a whole new yard stick by which to measure this period. While Spain is plundering the new world for gold and Africa for slaves, England is plundering Spain and finding benefit in the slave trade. This explains why English colonists were late (compared to Spain) in arriving in their "demarkated" hemisphere.
   
   It is for the editing and not that writing that I give this book 4 stars and not 5. The frequency of ambiguous phrases and incomplete concepts hinders a smooth read. These are not things a writer, who knows her material inside and out, can easily spot.
   
   For instance, p. 289, allusion is made to the storm raging and "driving the Francis, the Sea Dragon, the White Lion and the Talbot out to sea" meaning Drake could only offer the Roanoke colonists the Bark Bonner. 4 boats seems like a staggering loss, but there is no explanation or follow up. On p. 312, when Drake captures Don Pedro who will not submit to ransom, the author quotes from sailor's testimony from a law suit over Drake's estate 20 years hence. While this suit is beyond the scope of this book, the attribution of the quote, without explanation, suggests that there might be a reason to think a ransom was paid.
   
   The story is compelling, and if you don't get too hung up on the detail (loose ends like those above occur every 20 pages or so), you will enjoy this rendering of the Elizabethan world. It gave me a whole new perspective from which to view all else about this period.



4. Definitely not as dry as straight history textbooks or as fanciful as the title might make you think, it takes fact and presents it in an interesting way.



5. I love history and I love pirates. Thankfully history never goes away and pirates are more popular than ever. I grew up on stories of Sir Francis Drake, the most prominent of her majesty the queen's privateer, who took his letters of marquee and seized a place in legend for himself. But I never really got into the true story about the man until I was more grown up. By then I was majoring in history in college and found the stories even more interesting because I recognized them as men who had to overcome their fears before they became swashbuckling heroes.
   
   I was, however, guilty of not thinking overmuch about the lady that gave men like Drake the chance to become my childhood heroes. Her journey, her decisions, were - upon reflection - even harder and more awe-inspiring than her privateers.
   
   Called the Virgin Queen, and that must have been a hard one to deal with back in her day, Elizabeth I rose to the throne a month after she turned 25. She was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded at the order of her husband Henry VIII. A beheading served as a divorce at the time because the Anglican Church hadn't instituted divorce as acceptable.
   
   For a while, Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and had no shot at the throne. That struggle was only one of many she faced, as well as religious problems within the nation and war with Spain.
   
   Historian Susan Ronald brings all of the adventure and excitement of Elizabeth I's life to the pages of her book. I'm ADHD and even though I love history, I oftentimes find wading through "scholarly" approaches to material I'm interested in very hard reading. My attention span wanders and I lose track in the middle of baroque sentences.
   
   This isn't so with Ronald's book. She effectively nailed me to the pages with her engrossing spinning of Elizabeth I's trials and travails. When I first hefted the book, and it is certainly hefty, I have to admit to being somewhat daunted. But then I began turning the pages. And kept turning the pages.
   
   Eiizabeth I's struggles to right the English economy, deal with controversy over her lineage and the religious changes she made, all became drama played out in my mind's eye. Ronald painted sets with her words, and the people came to life. Reading this book is effortless, and it provides a splendid study of that time and the people involved.
   
   I'd been fascinated by the Spanish Armada and how it was destroyed in 1588, but I hadn't really felt all that was at stake if they'd won against England. The Cold War that played out between Russia and the United States between 1950s-1980s had nothing on the conflict that took place on the Atlantic Ocean during Elizabeth's reign.
   
   Although the book focuses a lot on the Queen's privateers - legalized pirates by any other name - much time is spent with her relationship with Robert Dudley, the Earl of Liecester, Thomas Seymore - who was her guardian for a time, as well as those famous pirates, Sir Francis Drake, and Admiral John Hawkins.
   
   Ronald's book is an armchair historian's dream and a keen, mostly unbiased, look at one of history's most famous and most daring women. If you've ever been interested in pirates or English history during a most dangerous time when history could have flipped in any of several directions, THE PIRATE QUEEN: ELIZABETH I, HER DARING ADVENTURERS, AND THE DAWN OF EMPIRE is definitely a book you should pick up.
   
   Although almost 500 pages long, take heart in the fact that the book is heavily documents and several of those pages are reference. The layout of the book, wide margins and easy-to-read typeface, also make it extremely attractive in this time of microscopic fonts.

5 comments about Nightingales: The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale.

1. I was looking forward to reading this because of the good reviews I had read about it, but frankly, I couldn't get past about page 50. I will perhaps try to get into it again, but the narrative did not hold my interest and was rather dry & academic in my opinion.



2. I received the book within a few days of the order and it was in perfect condition. Excellent service!



3. What I love about Gillian Gill's biographies is the obvious extensive research of her subject. I had finished reading Gill's second biography on Mary Baker Eddy and was so impressed I knew in the Florence Nightingale biography I would find a well-researched and well-written history of a very complex woman. Gill's subjects are not always easy to understand, but through Gill's research you gain at least a clearer idea of the woman behind the "Lady with the Lamp". A wonderful biography worth reading. I especially enjoyed learning more about Nightingale's family and how important they were in creating Florence Nightingale.



4. I found this read a bit on the dry side and at times almost pedantic. I am glad I read it, but it didn't really keep my attention as I had hoped.



5. Florence Nightingale's life holds a fascination for me. This is an extremely detailed read and Miss Gill's vocabulary is so extensive that one may desire a dictionary by one's side at times. The lifestyles of the families of privilege during the Victorian era painted a new portrait of a true hero, and opened windows to how those times still effect us today! The descriptions of hospital life during the Crimean War were eye-opening, as were the the illnesses in the Nightingale family were thought provoking from a medical and psycological standpoint. As a nurse myself, I am sorry I have not adequately appreciated "Flo"! Not easy reading, but worth the effort.

5 comments about Charles Darwin (Very Interesting People Series).

1. interesting biography of the life of Charles Darwin...great insights on his childhood and early experiences.



2. I actually first checked this book out from my university's library and liked it so much that I went ahead and bought it for my personal library. Browne explores Darwin's life in the text in an extremely compelling and easily comprehendable manner. While I don't believe Charles Darwin: Voyaging is explicit and detailed enough to negate the need for true Darwin enthusiasts to discover Darwin for themselves through reading his autobiography, collected correspondence, and great scientific works (The Origins of Species, Descent of Man etc...) I do think the text accomplishes what it was meant to do--give those curious about Darwin's life and works the basic overview they need before pursuing the topic in more depth.



3. Exceptional book, if in doubt, buy it. I knew it would be great after reading so many positive reviews, for some years, and was not disappointed. Unlike some overly detailed biographies, every word seems worthwhile here, from that first glorious sentence to the last. Here is the great adventure story of all time, biology-wise. All I can do is add my two cents worth to what is said elsewhere, don't miss this one.



4. Un libro estupendo. Erudito ,informado , ameno y riguroso.¿Que mas podemos pedirle a Janet Browne?



5. This is one of the best biography books that I have ever read. It is factual and beautifully written

3 comments about Jane Austen: Her Life: The Definitive Portrait of Jane Austen: Her Life, Her Art, Her Family, Her World.

1. This book claims to cover a great deal of new material, although I would have to say that it doesn't seem to me to add much to other biographies. I would guess that a lot of the new material relates to Frank Austen, since the biography begins, somewhat surprisingly, with a several page account of his entry into the Navy. I would therefore recommend it to Janeites, who will want all the details, but those who have already read a biography and are not terribly interested probably won't find that this rewards the additional reading. (I am among those who just love details, although this is a bit much even for me.)
   
   Previous biographers, such as Elizabeth Jenkins (Jane Austen: A Biography), have portrayed the Austens as a loving and harmonious family. Recent biographers have challenged this view, sometimes even arguing for serious tension between Jane and her sister Cassandra. Honan argues for a relatively harmonious group, with some normal dissensions.
   
   I give somewhat mixed marks to the writing. I find statements such as "The deepest purpose of her burlesques was always to ensure her freedom within the loving group of the Austens ... " (p.70) as unverifiable verbiage that adds little to the reading experience. I don't think that we needed several pages on the actual events of the Battle of Trafalger, although of course it adds to the general historical detail. On the other hand, Honan's reconstruction of JA's possible thoughts as she agonized over withdrawing from her engagement to Bigg-Withers are quite affecting, even if speculative. I don't think that I have ever read a more moving account of her courage during her last illness.
   
   The bibliographic citations are frustratingly uneven and incomplete. Previous biographers have pilloried Edward Austen (Knight) for his failure to offer his mother and sisters a home immediately after his father's death. Honan claims in passing that he did make such an offer and they declined it. There is no citation for this startling, and in understanding the interactions of the Austens, important statement! Honan also agrees with Valerie Grosvenor Myers (Jane Austen, Obstinate Heart: A Biography) in stating that Mrs. Cassandra Austen (JA's mother) was reluctant to get married, but neither cites a source! This claim suggests a number of interesting possibilities regarding the mother-daughter relationship and JA's own decisions regarding marriage, and is certainly important enough to require substantiation.
   
   One of the reviewers has mentioned that there are numerous errors in the book. I can't say that I was struck by them, unless the reviewer is speaking of difference in interpretation, but I can't claim to be any expert, either.
   
   Honan includes several family trees and the notes, such as they are, are arranged so as to be easy to find. There is an index, not as detailed as it might be. There is a useful review of materials and previous writings on Austen and related topics.
   
   Honan does not like John Halperin's book, The Life of Jane Austen, which he claims is inaccurate, but it is so far my favorite and the most focussed of the long biographies. For a short biography, which I like to read before long biographies when available, I recommend Carol Shield's book, Jane Austen (Penguin Lives), and Valerie Grosvenor Myer's Jane Austen, Obstinate Heart: A Biography, as a midlength book. The latter is flawed by a lack of notes.



2. I found 23 factual errors in Honan's book -- when I mentioned this to someone I was told that a reader in Virginia had found 142. There are much better biographies of Jane Austen out there -- for starters, no one has yet surpassed Elizabeth Jenkins', first published in the 1930s, and a fine recent one, a good introduction to JA's life, is Maggie Lane's latest, Jane Austen's World. Don't be put off by the fact that it is slick and, as they say, richly illustrated -- it's readable, sound and remarkably complete despite its size.



3. Park Honan (professor of English and American Literature at the Universiy of Leeds in England) wrote "Jane Austen: Her Life" in the late 1980's. At the time he wrote his book, he had access to much new material including a treasure trove of letters written by various folks who knew Ms. Austen. Mr. Honan has included an impressive bibliography in his book which should keep one reading for years to come.

   Honan says Ms. Austen understood the current affairs of her time and he provides ample documentation to substantiate this assertion. He also suggests her knowledge of current events is reflected in her writing, albeit thinly disguised.

   Although Austen lead a somewhat sheltered life as the daughter of an English vicar, she lived in exciting times. Napolean was at his height, the Revolution in France and subsequent 'Reign of Terror' kept English on pins and needles, thirteen of England's 23 American colonies had revolted and created a new nation that had sided with the French, and the aristocracy was in turmoil over scandels surrounding the monarcy.

   Austen was kept abreast of these activities in a variety of ways including letters from her naval brother Frank. Historians have uncovered over 500 letters Frank wrote to family members, and he kept meticulous journals of his time in the navy. Although he probably did not tell Jane everything, he did share many newsworthy events such as the difficulties on his ship the 'London' when six men were hanged and some others "lashed for insolence, mutiny and an 'unnatural crime of Sodomy." Honan says Austen refers to this incident in "Mansfield Park" when she has the character Mary Crawford who is living next door with her adulterous admiral uncle say, "Of Rears and Vices, I saw enough."

   Honan says Austen was influenced by the writings of Mme. de Sevigne, whom Ms. Austen's father considered too much of a feminist. Jane Austen was very concerned about the plight of women and considered adultry and divorce a scourge on women. She was aware of the Regent Prince's attempt to put aside his wife Queen Charlotte on "trumped up" charges of adultry. She sympathized with the Queen, unaware that the Queen was a fan of her books.

   Influenced by works such as the third Earl of Shaftesbury's "Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times" she enjoined her readers to have the 'sense' "to control one's emotions through observation, reason and moral understanding" and the sensibility to have an "accurate perception of other people and their feelings."

   There are plenty of examples throughout Honan's book of the effect of external events on Ms. Austen's writing and thinking, not only her books, but in the letters that did survive and journals kept by Ms. Austen and others.

   This is an informative an excellent book for anyone who wants to know more about Ms. Austen's life and works.

No comments about Behind Palace Doors: My Service As the Queen Mother's Equerry.

5 comments about My Year Off: Recovering Life After a Stroke.

1. I am also a stroke survivor. I was very fortunate to survive and to experience struggle, failure and triumph as a life's second chance. My year off, which I read soon after my stroke 4 years ago provided me with guidance and insight as to what to expect. Especially the emotional aspect of my recovery. I also loved the author's music recommendations which revealed to me another way in which the brain recovers. I sprang from that and explored into frequenting activities that stimulated positive thinking (i.e. beautiful art). I learned so much from this book! I'm grateful that it was the first book I read during my recovery! Thank you for being so insightful!!!



2. I found Robert McCrumb's book to be very helpful in understanding how the stroke victim feels about what he is going through. My father just had a stroke and I spent a week with him in the ICU and rehab unit, trying to help him get his life back. During a victim's recovery period we rarely if ever hear from them, especially if they suffer from aphasia (loss of speech). Mr McCrumb's book tells us what we never quite understand-what the stroke victim really feels, thinks, hopes for, and dreams about. I appreciated the inclusion of his wife's diary, as she was his primary support person throughout his recovery. It was also interesting to learn how differently a stroke was treated in the mid 90's in the UK, versus in 2007 in the USA in Madison, WI. where they were able to administer the new TPA drug that helps prevent damage. Overall I would highly recommend this book as a good read, with not too much medical jargon to scare you away yet enough to help you relate to what he was going through.



3. While I found this book interesting it would be most disappointing if I were someone looking for real answers. If someone is looking for real recovery then I would recommend a book called Peeling the Onion:
   Reversing the Ravages of Stroke. In 2000 my grandmother had a stroke which left her paralyzed, unable to roll over in her bed and unable to speak. Long-short, I took a shot and took her to this clinic where, in less than a week she and I were again having two-way conversations and she could transfer herself from the car to the wheelchair. By the time we went home she was walking 400 feet with a walker. Strokes change families but they don't have to be permanently debilitating. If you are looking for help for the stroke and not just a book to read, you might want to order it. Thank God for Dr. Hammesfahr and his stroke therapy!Peeling the Onion: Reversing the Ravages of Stroke



4. This book was not quite up to my expectations. It was interesting but I felt the writer wasn't being totally honest about his rate of recovery since it conflicted heavily with his wife's view. I actually liked his wifes diaries, they were very helpful in what the actual recovery process was. I wouldn't highly recommend paying the money for this book.



5. Very insightful book. Referring to the past reviewer who dismissed this book because Mr. McCrum's stroke was not catastrophic enough, I am very sorry to hear of your loved one's difficulties. However this book could be helpful to many who suffer lesser degrees of stroke and eventually recover fairly well. I can understand this book would not be useful to you personally in light of your experiences. I can say though without a doubt, as a stroke survivor, that even a mild stroke is something no person would EVER want to experience. It often strikes like a lightning bolt and even if function is eventually regained it is hard for a person to ever get over being completely paralyzed and helpless even for a short period of time. Books like Mr. McCrum's help the world at large start to realize stroke can affect anyone, even the young. Best wishes and good health to all.