“Money and titles may be hereditary,” she would say, “but brains are not…”
—The Scarlet Pimpernel
This month’s book salon topic was novels dealing with royalty. Attendance was sparse. Royal wedding fatigue? If so, C. would probably recommend Mark Helprin’s Freddy and Fredericka, a parody of the British royal family.
Otherwise, the Wars of the Roses seemed to guide much of the reading, with The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, and Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel as selections. Much was made of the two Thomases (More and Cromwell), their portrayal through time, and how history is written by the winners.
“Beneath every history, another history.”—Wolf Hall
On the lighter side, yet still somehow involving people being beheaded, I also listened to the Classic Tales Podcast audio of The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Part spy novel, part romance, it’s a fun, quick read for all ages.
The complete list of suggested books can be found here.
Martini Count: 0 (Instead I tried the horribly named but absolutely delicious Strawberry D’Amour—Grey Goose vodka, strawberry purée, simple syrup, lime juice, with muddled fresh basil and a black pepper rim.)
2 comments:
Wow! Kevin & I should have been there--Josephine Tey for me plus A Man...Seasons for him. And strawberries + vodka? You live too far away!!!
I do live too far away. Or, rather, you do.
Unsurprisingly, Kevin's name did come up while discussing the film (which I still haven't seen)!
The drink was delicious; I edited to add the black pepper rim that I forgot to include in the original description.
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