The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

The Winter of the Witch is Katherine Arden's third book in the Winternight Trilogy. I reviewed the first books The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower here. 

I was quite taken by the 14th c Rus' setting, the Russian fairy-tale-inspired characters, and the female heroine journey. Arden studied Russian in Moscow, so reading the books the reader is immersed in Russian history and traditional culture. 

The series, in essence, is about a young girl growing up, discovering her abilities and place in the world, at odds with societal expectations. Historical Russia becomes a fairy-tale kingdom where both men and devils must fight to survive.

The Bear and the Nightingale 

In 14th c Russia, Vasya, who can talk to horses and hear the household spirits, dares to claim the right to make her own fate. Against her family's desires and the demands of society and church, she resists the life laid out for her. Even the pagan gods, whose power is slowly fading, try to harness her for their good but she will not be chattel to anyone. She fights the evil spirits that threaten her family, protected by the Winter King Morozko. When the spirit of Death in the form of a monstrous bear attacks their community, Vasya is blamed and labeled a witch by the priest Konstantin. Her choices limited to marry, enter a convent, or be killed as a witch, Vasya dresses as a boy and goes out into the world with a horse from Morozko, the unworldly stead Solovey, or Nightingale.

The Girl in the Tower

In the cruel winter, dressed as a boy, Vasya flees her home where she was driven out as a witch. After battling a Tartar army she finds refuge in a city where she is reunited with her brother Sasha, the valiant monk-warrior and childhood friend of the ruling prince. Her exploits impress the prince and she leads his band to track down the Tartar marauders. Vasya accompanies the retinue to Moscow and is reunited with her sister. Also in Moscow is the tormented Konstintine, the priest whose misguided faith drove him to persecute Vasya in her hometown. The story includes a twisted plot of false identities, a heritage of women who can communicate with the spirit world, and a riveting epic battle.

The Winter of the Witch

This installment brings the epic story to an exciting climax as the Rus kingdoms are threatened by the Mongol Golden Horde, and the chyerti fight for survival as they are forgotten as Christianity spreads. 

Vasya learns she is descended from a line of witches and pledges to help the chyerti coexist with humanity. Central to the continuing story is Vasya's monk-warrior brother Sasha, their sister Olga and her daughter, the nascent witch Marya, the Rus' Prince, and the misguided Christian priest, Konstantin, whose lust for power overrides his faith. 

Vasya's demon mentor Morozko The Winter King, a god of death, and his brother Medved, the Bear, god of chaos, have been enemies. To protect her Rus' kinfolk, Vasya's task is to bridge their gap and make them ally with humans.

In the Author's Note, Arden states that from the start she planned to end the trilogy at the 1380 Battle of Kulikovo on the Don River between the Grand Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich and the Tatar temnik Mamai. There was a historical warrior-monk who battled a Tartar warrior as in the novel, and the Grand Prince did trade places with a boyar so he could fight incognito.

I sped through The Winter of the Witch, a compelling read. There are two epic battles. As I noted in earlier reviews, the myth of the female hero continues as Vasya receives help and magical helpers. I noted repetition in the story, stock images or phrases, in the style of Epic poetry. 

The series would appeal to readers who like strong female characters battling for freedom and those with an interest in fairy tales, Russian folklore, and fantasy. 

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The Winter of the Witch: A Novel
by Katherine Arden
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Del Rey
Pub Date 08 Jan 2019 
ISBN: 9781101885994
PRICE: $28.00 (USD)

2018 Quilts

For once I have more finishes than starts! Only because I took 8 quilt tops to be long arm quilted.

Starts include:

This quilt made with the Thistle fabric line animal prints. I decided to add an outer border, so I need to make more blocks.

Redwork blocks of Little Red Riding Hood based on a 1919 pattern. I have fabrics to set them together.

I started this A Tisket a Tasket quilt from Bunny Hill and have nearly finished hand quilting it--then it needs embellishments.

I finished making 12 blocks for my yellow roses quilt, which still need to be put together.

I started my Bronte sisters quilt. It now has a lot of flowers. 

I made several more blocks for my Great Gatsby quilt.

Finishes include:

I made this wall hanging based on Stitches from the Harvest embroidery patterns 

I just finished hand quilting this Peter Pan applique quilt. The Riley Blake Neverland fabric line inspired me. I used Marion Cheever Whiteside Newton's Story Book applique patterns. Hand appliqued and hand quilted.

I made this wall hanging for the weekly quilt group's fabric challenge. The image is based on a Victorian illustration.

I finished hand quilting the Jane Austen Family Album, patterns shared by Barbara Brackman.

My quilt tops that were longarm quilted included:

Icicle Days, a design from Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill

Fox Kits design from Sew Fresh Quilts

Big Block in two colors

 The MODA Bee-autiful Sew Along embroidered quilt

A quilt made with my father-in-law's shirts

This quilt top is prettier in real life, with sparkling fabrics.

No photo yet, but I finished a queen-size quilt top for my son. 

For Christmas gifts I made five pillow cases, two dice bags, two tea cozies, and made this applique for a tote bag for my son's girlfriend who is a knitter.

pillowcases

Tote, dice bags, and a pillowcase

For the weekly quilt group Christmas exchange I made this placemat.

My plans are to continue to clear out my UFOs, finishing more quilts in process. I also have bought fabric for a pattern of stars and a house using this main fabric from Connecting Threads' Winter Flurries collection.

The Diary of Helen Korngold: A Glimpse into St. Louisan Jewish Society in 1919

In 2001 while I was browsing through a second-hand shop in south Lansing, Michigan, I came across a 1919 Stix, Baer & Fuller diary. I picked the book up and was amazed to see it was completely filled with diary entries. After reading a few entries I was charmed by the writer.

Helen Korngold, December 1919
22 years old. Taken in New York City.

The December, 31 entry ended with the signature Helen Korngold. Intrigued, I paid $15 and brought the diary home.

The diary as I found it

The diary tells the story of Helen's senior year at Washington University, pursued by boys and having a grand time, yet single-minded about her chosen career as a teacher.

The Diary of Helen Korngold

Helen was the daughter of a Jewish immigrant who by hard work and persistence built a successful business. They were part of a vibrant Jewish community in St. Louis that had deep roots.

Helen's St Louis was in its heyday. WWI had just ended, and many of the boys Helen writes about were returning home, passing through the barracks near the university.

Helen as a young teacher at Normandy H.S. in St. Louis, 1936

Helen as a teacher at Normandy H. S. in St. Louis, 1937

I have researched all aspects of Helen’s life: her friends, the places she visited, her family history. I am a genealogist and researched Helen on Ancestry.com and started a Korngold family tree, the first for her lineage. 

I wanted to solve the mystery of how a St. Louis girl’s 1919 diary ended up in Lansing, Michigan. It took me over a decade to find the answer, and only then because a member of her extended family started their own family tree. In the last year, I have been contacted by two of Helen's great-nieces and learned more about Helen's later life.

Helen Korngold Herzog and Fritz Herzog, family photograph

Helen became a teacher in a local high school. Helen married Fritz Herzog, the love of her life. Fritz was a Jewish immigrant who came to America as a student and went on to become an important American mathematician. He lost his entire family during the Holocaust.

In the coming year, I will be sharing Helen's diary entries and my research, sharing a week's diary entries and notes on every Saturday.

Helen's diary was from a local department store

I have completely enjoyed learning about Helen. I hope that my readers will enjoy visiting a world from a century ago and will come to love Helen as much as I do.

Below is some general background information about Washington University and St. Louis.

Notes and Background Information

Washington University was an army post for the armed services during WWI and many students left for the war. According to an article, “ By the end of 1917, 200 faculty and students had signed up, and on December 19 a service flag with 200 stars was hoisted over University Hall. The next day an 83-star flag went up over the medical school. Eventually, 410 graduates and 93 undergraduates received commissions, and 22 students, staff, or alumni died while in service.”

Professors added war-related courses. Dean Langsdorf added a radio communications course. Dr. Usher's 1913 book Pan-Germanism had predicted the war. His anti-German sentiments brought criticism and he responded with a public statement for academic freedom.

“In spring 1917, the Fifth Missouri Regiment came to campus, using Francis Field as its drill ground, and the next January student soldiers arrived for woodworking, blacksmithing, and machine shop training. Perhaps the biggest disruption to University life, however, was the October 1918 arrival of hundreds of men in the Students' Army Training Corps (SATC), aimed at training recruits and developing potential officers. The SATC, said the Hatchet, "saved Washington from becoming a girls' college for the period of the war." Suddenly, enrollment skyrocketed; in fall 1918, the University had 1,515 students—a 50 percent increase over the previous year.”

The SATC took over all residence halls but the women's dorms and the Francis Gymnasium. Barracks, a mess hall, and a YMCA canteen were built adjacent to the campus. With the end of the war on November 11, 1918 the SATC disbanded and left the campus. In March 1919, the Alumni Association held a banquet honoring the university's war heroes.

Named for President Jefferson, The Jefferson Barracks opened in 1826 and closed in 1946. During World War 1 it was the nation’s largest induction and demobilization center for military personnel on the way to deployment in Europe.

Some of the servicemen Helen met, like Dewey Pierre Flambert, were likely stationed at the Barracks on their way back home.

http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ParkPages/JeffersonBarracks/JeffersonBarracksMuseums
http://www.jbhf.org/index.html
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/jbphotos/
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/jb/views.htm

The Spanish Influenza

The 1918 Spanish Influenza closed Washington University for six weeks. The Student Life Vol. 43, No. 2, of October 11, 1918, reported an empty campus as all classes were suspended after 12:30 pm on Wednesday, October 9, 1918. Administrative work and football and hockey practice continued and professors reported to their classrooms. Graham Chapel became a Red Cross shop where students made influenza masks. Classes resumed Monday, November 18; longer classes were scheduled to make up for lost time. By November 29, 1918, only 8 cases of influenza were reported and the crisis was considered over.

For further information, see the WU Magazine article from Winter 2003, "Over There":http://magazine-archives.wustl.edu/Winter03/OverThere.htm   or consult the WUSTL History section of the Archives Vertical Files.

Jewish Roots in St. Louis

St. Louis had a long history of Jewish society by the time Helen was born in 1899. In 1807 Joseph Philipson arrived from Philadelphia and became the first Jewish merchant. By 1900 there were 40,000 Jews in St. Louis.

http://www.stlgs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=316&Itemid=507

The first Jewish services date to 1837. United Hebrew Synagogue was the first established in the city and still exists today. In 1856 Mt. Olive Cemetery was opened.

Helen notes helping her mother with Seder dinner and attending Temple Satellites, Young Hebrew activities, and teaching Sunday School classes.

Helen's parents are buried in the United Hebrew Cemetery and her brother Karol in Mt Sinai.

The Jewish population was deeply assimilated into the American culture. Fraternal organizations accepted Jewish members.

https://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/planning/cultural-resources/preservation-plan/Part-I-Religious-Life.cfm

Charles Harper's Birds & Words

I received Charles Harper's Birds & Words from my husband for Christmas, a book that has long been on my wish list. It is a reprinting of Harper's 1972 book presenting the bird portfolios sold at $5 each in the back of the Ford Times, the Ford Motor Company's lifestyle magazine. 

Harper's original introduction was of great interest to me as I knew little about the life of the artist. He grew up on a farm, but farm life disagreed with him. He was repulsed by how farm animals were treated. After his service in the army he spent some unsatisfying time in New York City before studying at the Cincinnati Art Academy. A trip out west gave him direction. As he studied nature he began to understand the complexity of human existence and our relationship to nature. He wrote, 

"...the more I learn about nature, the more I am troubled by unanswerable questions about human exploitation of plants and animals and our casual assumption that the natural world is here only to serve people. I see all living things as fellow creatures with as might right as I have to be here and to continue living. I have to ask myself how man, the predator with a conscience, can live without carrying a burden of guilt for his existence at the expense of other creatures. Where does none draw the line between preservation of nature and preservation of self?"

Western Tanager from Ten Western Birds

The book is divided into the six portfolios:

• Ten Western Birds, from Ford Times 1956
• America's Vanishing Birds, from Ford Times 1957
• Ten Southern Birds, from Ford Times 1958
• American Bird Architects, from Ford Times 1959
• American Bird Census, from Ford Times 1960
• Ten Collector Prints

Marsh Hen from America's Vanishing Birds

Each bird is given two pages, one page showing the illustration and a page for Harper's descriptions, which are often whimsical, a pure delight to read. The title font Kismet was specially chosen by Harper for the book. 

Meadowlark from American Bird Architects

Baltimore Oriel from American Bird Architects

Readers also learn about how Harper developed his unique style, paring images down to geometrical shapes.

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher from Ten Western Birds

Although I do love all the illustrations, it was the section of America's Vanishing Birds that moved me the most. These birds became extinct directly by human hands: The Great Auk, destroyed by 1844; the Carolina Paroquet, gone by 1904, hunted for ladies' hats; the Passenger Pigeon last seen in 1914; the Heath Hen which in 1830 was commonly found around Boston; and the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Labrador Duck, and Eskimo Curlew. Endangered, but still with us, he included the Whopping Crane, Trumpeter Swan, California Condor (extinct in 1987 but being reintroduced), and the Everglade Kite.

I knew the book would be a visual feast, and that a study of the art would be interesting. I had not realized that Harper was also "an alternative Audubon" who was an environmentalist at heart.

Charlie Harper's Birds and Words
www.ammobooks.com
$27.95 US/$31.95 Canada/$14.95 GBP
ISBN: 978-193442905-1

We Hope for Better Things Erin Bartels

We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels was a pleasant surprise for me. The novel is about three generations of women who live in Detroit and rural Lapeer, Michigan, spanning from the Civil War to the 1960s to today.

I found the novel to be engaging, with interesting storylines and settings, nicely paced, and with well-drawn and sympathetic characters. As a Christian novel, Bartels message is, "God has a plan." 

Elizabeth has lost her job at the Detroit Free Press.  She is asked to visit her great-aunt Nora to determine if she is the rightful owner of a camera and photographs in the possession of an African American family. With nothing holding her back, Elizabeth agrees and leaves Detroit for Lapeer.

Nora is confused and reclusive. Over time, Elizabeth pieces together a family history that involves the Underground Railroad, forbidden love, and the Detroit riot. 

I was interested in reading the book because of its setting. I grew up and now live in Metro Detroit and remember vividly the 1967 riot. Other connections include my husband's family roots in Lapeer and adjoining villages including a great-grandfather who married a Farnsworth, a name which appears in the novel.

20th c scrap quilt, African American, Detroit MI

A bonus for me was the quiltmaking that takes place! A 19th c. Crazy Quilt, a yellow hexagon quilt, and a contemporary crazy quilt are central to the story. I love that Nora is a fabric hoarder, her stash spilling out of the closet and filling dresser drawers!

Crazy Quilt

Piecing a life, piecing the mystery of the past, piecing things whole--the book's theme could be said to be the work of taking the worn scraps life hands you and creating something of beauty out of it.

A kaleidoscope of color, it was formed from varied patches of jewel-toned velvet and silk, each piece edged with multicolored embroidery thread in a hundred different patterns. from We Hope For Better Things by Erin Bartels

1903 Crazy Quilt

Crazy Quilt Detail

Historical fiction fans will enjoy the book. Women's fiction readers will respond to the challenges the women face. Plus, there is romance and heartbreak and hope. The story addresses racism throughout American history.

19th c Hexagon quilt owned by Diane Little

Learn more about what inspired the book at 

https://erinbartels.com/home/media/interviews-articles/

Bartel's amazing photographs of Michigan can be found at

https://erinbartels.com/home/photography/

Trip Around the World, late 20th c, African American, Detroit

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

We Hope for Better Things

by Erin Bartels

Revell

Publication January 1, 2019

ISBN: 9780800734916

PRICE: $15.99 (USD)

Detroit Motto: We Hope for Better Things, It Shall Rise From the Ashes

A Christmas Crime Story: Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

Mystery in White was a great book to read in these last days before Christmas, entertaining and atmospheric. The descriptions of the deep gathering snow as it stopped a train, piled against doors, and hid bodies, had me convinced I was also snowed in. I kept reminding myself that we had not seen snow for weeks!

I enjoyed the diverse characters, a group of passengers from a snowbound train. They decide to walk to the next station but, driven by the elements, find refuge in an empty country home. Empty, and yet with tea set and fires roaring!

The mystery is why the house was abandoned in such horrid weather--where can the inhabitants have gone? Clues include a torn letter, a bread knife, an open door which had been previously locked. Meantime, a young woman nurses several passengers and determines they will have a jolly Christmas Day even in unlikely circumstances--including a possible murder.

I first heard about the novel at the Battered, Tattered, Yellowed & Creased blog run by my son. You can read his thoughtful review here.

The British Library Crime Classics series reprints best selling works from the early 20th and 19th c. Other books in the series which I previously reviewed include:

The Notting Hill Mystery by Charles Warren Adams
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2015/08/domestic-noir-from-notting-hill-mystery.html
The Female Detective by Andrew Forrester
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2015/08/domestic-noir-from-notting-hill-mystery.html
Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2017/09/amusing-classic-crime-story-for-grim.html