FALLING ANGELS
FALLING ANGELS by Tracy Chevalier.
I have read several other books by this author: The Girl with One Pearl Earring, and The Girl and the Unicorn. These were both interesting novels written around a specific piece of real art. Falling Angels was somewhat different, but an enjoyable read.
"Falling Angels chronicles the lives of two girls whose families own adjacent plots in a London cemetery—one decorated with a sentimental angel, the other with an elaborate urn. During a ceremonial stroll through the graveyard grounds, an act of mourning for the recently deceased Queen Victoria, Maude Coleman and Lavinia Waterhouse meet, forging a fast friendship."
This story focuses on Women's Suffrage in London in the early 1900's. I think the author's portrayal of the role of women during this time was accurate and interesting.
THE DEBUTANTE DIVORCEE
By Plum Sykes
This book is the color of cotton candy and read like a large box of chocolates. It was very fun to read and described as a "Jane Austen-like romantic comedy of errors". If you ever wanted to examine the lives of the rich and frivolous, this is the place to go. The author is a contributing editor at Vogue and writes for Vanity Fair and knows her material!
THE COMMONER
By John Burnham Schwartz
I did not realize until I did some research that this book is based on a true story...
"The true story on which the novel is based is well known. In 1957, the Japanese crown prince, Akihito, met a beautiful young woman, Michiko Shoda, on a tennis court. She became the first commoner to marry into the imperial family. Despised by her mother-in-law as an upstart and interloper, Michiko eventually succumbed to a depression so intense that she temporarily lost the ability to speak. A generation later, her eldest son, Prince Naruhito, also fell in love with a commoner — again with dreadful results. "
This was an interesting story, but after reading all the Phillipa Gregory and Nora Lofts novels about the Queens of England, it was sadly lacking in detail and court intrigue.
