Review

book review

“Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace” by Kate Summerscale

Summerscale, Kate. Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian LadyBloomsbury, 2012Hardcover, 303 pages ISBN 978-1-608-19913-6 Recommended Kate Summerscale’s book showcases the precarious position of women in Victorian England. When Isabella Hamilton Walker married Henry Robinson in 1844, she was a 31-year-old widow with a young son. Her first husband had willed his estate to

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Featured Review: “Room” by Emma Donoghue

Featured Review: Room by Emma Donoghue In a writer’s group I participate in someone recently asked for recommendations of novels to look at as examples in creating the voice of a child narrator. I’ve always been interested in books with child narrators because I think one of the hardest jobs writers can set for themselves

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“Beneath the Bleeding” by Val McDermid

McDermid, Val. Beneath the Bleeding (2007)   Audiobook by Recorded Books (2010), narrated by Gerard Doyle This book opens with Dr. Tony Hill in his office late one night at the psychiatric facility where he works. When one of the most violent patients stages an escape, Hill manages to distract him long enough to allow

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“The Mermaids Singing” by Val McDermid

McDermid, Val. The Mermaids Singing (1995)   Audiobook by Dreamscape Media (2011), narrated by Graham Roberts Note: This novel contains graphic descriptions of torture and sexual violence. The bodies of four men, brutally tortured and murdered, have been found in the fictional town of Bradfield, England. Police have no leads in the case and have

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‘America’s Final Beginning’ a clumsy, preachy novel written by a beginner

‘America’s Final Beginning’ a clumsy, preachy novel written by a beginner. I offer this review as a good definition of what is commonly known as a “program novel” or a “propaganda novel”: a novel that is written to portray a message but that forgets the first requirement of a novel is to tell a good

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