The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books: Young Columbus and the Search for a Universal Library

In the tradition of Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve and Dava Sobel’s Galileo’s Daughter, a vividly rendered account of the forgotten quest by Christopher Columbus’s son to create the greatest library in the world—“a perfectly pitched poetic drama” (Financial Times) and an amazing tour through 16th century Europe.

I was intrigued--Columbus had a son who created the world's greatest library? Why hadn't we heard about him? What happened to all the books? How did he even embark on such a quest? I had to read this book.

Hernando may have been an illegitimate son but in 1502 his father Christopher Columbus took the thirteen-year-old along on his fourth voyage to the New World. Hernando started his life familiar with lands and cultures that most of the world didn't even know existed.

The book recounts Columbus's discoveries and his struggle to maintain his status and share of New World wealth for his heirs.

The Admiral of the Ocean reigned as the greatest explorer for only a short time before he was dethroned.  He became old news as successive explorers stole attention and acclaim. Spain sought to discredit Columbus as the first to discover the New World, desirous of keeping all the New World wealth. Hernando determined to return and solidify his father's status by writing a book about his father's life--essentially the first biography.

The other part of the book is Hernando's thirst for knowledge, his obsession with collecting books of every kind, in every language--even if he couldn't read them. He collected prints and maps and art and ephemera gleaned from small booksellers.

He kept lists of his books and when he lost over a thousand books in a shipwreck he knew which ones he needed to replace. He developed methods to catalog and organize the books and to retrieve the information in the books.

Hernando was called upon to create a definitive map of the New World so that Spain and Portugal could finalize their territorial rights. He began an exhaustive dictionary but abandoned it knowing he could never finish it.

As he traveled across Europe, Hernando came into contact with all the great thinkers whose ideas were rocking the world: Erasmus, Luther, Rabelais, Thomas More. During Hernando's lifetime, Henry was looking to divorce Catherine, Suleiman was conquering the Eastern reaches of Europe, and the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned as the head of church and state. Luther's teaching had fueled the Peasant's Revolt and the anti-authoritarian Anabaptist movement arose.

In his later life, Hernando settled down and built his house and perfected his library. His garden was an arboretum containing plants and trees from across the world.

Hernando's achievement was remarkable. His goal to order all human knowledge for accessible retrieval was monumental. But after his death, most of his work and library were lost to neglect and time.

Through the life of one man, The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books gave me a panoramic view of the 16th c., an overview of the life and achievements of Christopher Columbus, and a biography of his son Hernando.

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

The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books: Christopher Columbus, His Son, and the Quest to Build the World's Greatest Library
By Edward Wilson-Lee
Publication March 12, 2019
LIST PRICE $30.00
ISBN 9781982111397

Helen Korngold Diary: February 24-March 2

Helen Korngold, Dec. 1919, New York City

This year I am sharing the 1919 diary of Helen Korngold of St. Louis, MO.

February

Monday 24

School. Basket Ball. Home Tired. Paul Cary home.

Tuesday 25

School. Paul & I fooled around. Home. Going to lecture this evening. Piette & her mother came to lecture. So did Summer. Karol went to a wedding, so S. took me home. We had lots of fun. He came into the kitchen & together we made some cocoa and toast. Tasted good.

Wednesday 26

School in Wellston. Substituted all day. Hard work. Went back to Washington to attend Stunt rehearsals. Good. Home & to bed. Letter from J. Koloditsky.

Thursday 27

School, classes interesting. McCourt & Usher & even Wells! Study—Home—Saw Pauline Carp. It's 9:10 and all I’ve done is practice a while. Must get busy. Heard an Indian girl speak at Y.W. today.

Friday 28

Class—Dancing—Out with Dan in the evening. Had a good time at Corrine Wolf’s house. Home at 12 P.M.

March

Saturday 1

Studied for Well’s exam. Not so bad. Had a delightful discussion on religion in Dr. McCourt’s class. After Usher’s class we went to Junior Council Kid Party. I put on my 1 act comedy. Came off fine. Whole party was successful. Paul managed games.

Sunday 2

Practiced with Corrine in morning—fooled around in afternoon & went to Temple Social society with Ed Siff. Karol was elected president. We had a lovely time.

Notes:

February 24

Paul Max Cary’s WWI draft registration shows he was working as a private secretary at the National Bank of Commerce in St Louis. He was of medium height and weight with brown eyes and light brown hair. He was born in Oklahoma on October 3, 1895. The document was signed June 25, 1917. He died on December 24, 1960. His widow applied for a military headstone. He was a Field Clerk AGD in WWI. Another military document shows he won a Purple Heart, and was an adjutant Generals Dept AEF. He served from November 27, 1917 to June 20, 1919. He appears on the 1930 Oklahoma State census as married to Gladys, with two children, and working as a bank clerk. It is possible he is on the 1910 Oklahoma census with father Mort, who was a farmer, and mother Delilah.


February 25

Mr. Albert Kelsey spoke on “Four Adventures in the Realm of Art.” The 1878 St. Louis City Directory shows he was a writer.

February 27

Young Women’s Hebrew Society

Pauline Carp was the daughter of Max and Yetta Carp. Max was a merchant who owned a general store in 1920 and Pauline was a saleslady. By the 1920 census Max had passed and neither Yetta nor Pauline was employed. The 1940 census finds Pauline and her sister Queen in Los Angeles, CA where Queen was a weightmaster. It appears Pauline married a Mr. Levy for in 1961 an obituary for a Pauline S. Carp Levy was recorded in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Y.W. Either the Y.W.C.A. or The Young Woman’s Hebrew Organization was organized in 1902 in New York City.

February 28

Corrine Wolf appears on the 1920 St. Louis Census working as a stenographer, age 19 and living with her parents Jacob and Nellie (Lillie Cohn) and siblings Paul and Sidney. Jacob was of Jewish Bohemian heritage and worked in “Lace and Embroidery”. Sidney worked in “White Goods”. A June 1925 marriage certificate shows Corrine Wolf, age 25, marring Leon Loeb, age 45. The 1910 St. Louis Census shows Jacob was a salesman for an importing company.

March 1
Article from the Jewish Voice

March 2

Ed Stiff was born Feb 1, 1895 in St Louis, MO. His WWI draft registration shows he was a medical student at St. Louis University. He was of medium height and slender with light hair and brown eyes. His parents were Aaron and Frieda, Yiddish/Russian immigrants. In 1910 their eldest son Charles supported the family as a druggist and Ed was a newspaper carrier. In 1900 the eldest son Harry supported the family as a shoemaker.

Northward by Chuck Radda

Francis McNally, retired private investigator, is caring for his wife who is battling cancer when he gets a call for help. Ten years previous he had failed to find the caller's missing wife. Now, another person has gone missing in Nunavut.

Derek Phillips has been experiencing time lapses and visions. Autumn, the company he works for, has offered Derek the chance to be on the cutting edge of a new project.  Climate change will allow availability of new energy sources and Autumn wants to get a head start. Now he has disappeared and a local townswoman wants him found.

McNally's wife knows this is her husband's opportunity to atone for his earlier failure and she encourages him to take the case. McNally journeys to Canada's frozen North's deadly cold and long dark days.

The locals have a complicated relationship to Autumn, enjoying the influx of money while resenting the environmental threats.

With snappy dialogue, direct questioning, and sharp insights, McNally is a classic PI character, modernized in all the best ways--as a respectful and loving husband, there is none of the sexism of classic noir. I loved the genre in-jokes, like references to Nick and Nora or Columbo. McNally's voice is well-honed, offering a real feel for the character.

I had not read the earlier McNally book Dark Time and although it's events are referenced in Northward I did not need to know the entire story to appreciate the moral burden McNally carries from his failure to find a man's wife in that volume.

"Northward" has several meanings in the book. It's the direction McNally travels from his home in the States. Derek's wife references her dad's euphemism "going northward" as the result of 'too much cold, not enough light.' And maybe it means crazy, or maybe it means getting in touch with the spirit world. 

McNally encounters people motivated by cold cash and self-sacrificing idealists and a man who may be a shaman. He meets a female 'mountie' and a townswoman who has embraced her Inuit heritage. 

The bulk of the novel is the unraveling of truth from behind the facades, but there is a high-action scene at the end. And some otherworldly encounters that can't be explained.

I enjoyed Northward and would read this author again. I thank Chuck Radda for his book which I won in a Goodreads giveaway. My review is fair and unbiased.

Northward: A Novel
Chuck Radda
Lefora Publishing
Publication Dec. 2018
ISBN 9780960001798

The Gown by Jennifer Robson

Subtitled, A Novel of the Royal Wedding, Jenifer Robson's novel The Gown imagines the women who embroidered Princess Elizabeth's 1947 wedding gown.

Heather is surprised when she inherits samples of embroidery from her grandmother. She had no idea her grandmother could do such beautiful work. Discovering that the samples match the embroidery on Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown, Heather goes on a quest to resurrect her beloved grandmother's buried past.

Alternating chapters tell Heather's story and that of her grandmother Anne and her friend Miriam Dassin. The reader is returned to 1947 London and the lingering effects of the war. Patriotism and support for the royal family were at a high and the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth filled the people with expectation, brightening the country with joy.

The winning wedding gown design went to Paul Hartnell, a favorite designer of the queen. The women created the elaborate applique and embroidery under strict orders to not talk about their work.

Ann Hughes was a lead embroiderer when Miriam Dassin is hired and put under Ann's tutelage. Miriam worked for a prestigious French fashion house before Germany took over her country. The women become roommates and fast friends. Miriam holds her past and Jewish heritage a close secret.

One fatal night Ann and Miriam join their coworkers at a dance where they meet the men who would change their lives--for better or worse.

I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the actual work process of appliqueing the satin on the tulle. 

Ann holds Harnell's pattern to the window and traces the design onto a piece of onionskin paper. She then cut the design out and aligns it with the drawing to check it is true. The pattern is placed on the satin fabric and using a needle with its blunt end set into a cork, Ann punches the needle into the fabric along the edge of the pattern piece, the needle separating the weave of the satin to mark the perimeter. With sharp scissors, Anne cuts along the perforated lines to make the applique shape. To attach the applique to the tulle she needle-turned the edges, the tip of the needle turning under the edge of the shape, and with tiny stitches and silk thread, sews it into place onto the silk tulle. After the applique was completed, the embroidery with pearls and beads and diamonds began.

As a needle-turn appliquer, I am familiar with the process. Thankfully, I work with easier materials. 

Silk thread is fine and results in near-invisible applique stitches, but it is challenging to work with. It is so fine I can hardly see it and it easily slips out of the needle eye. The satin used for the gown has a dense weave but was resistant to taking a crease. So she could not prepare the applique shapes with one of the many methods I use, resorting to needle-turn. This means using the tip of the needle to turn under the very edge of the shape, working in extremely small increments. The seamstress must be careful not to fray the edge of the applique shape, rolling threads under to be caught.

Using tulle as an applique base is also difficult. I am used to a woven fabric as an applique base and the needle gently separates the threads. But tulle is not a densely woven fabric, but a net or mesh fabric. The openings in the tulle gives the needles less to anchor to. I tried to applique on nylon tulle and could not get a smooth edge to the applique!

Not only where these materials challenging to work with, but the physical demands of the work had to be exhausting. The eye strain from hours of close work, the fabrics and threads all the same color, the reaching to work on a tambour frame, I can imagine the resulting muscle and joint pain! 

That the ensemble was completed in such a short time is amazing.

The novel will appeal to readers of historical fiction and women's fiction, Anglophiles, and anyone interested in fashion history. 

I won a book from the Book Club Cookbook.

Learn more and see photos of the gown at

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/27/the-queens-wedding-and-coronation-dresses-to-be-displayed-togeth/

Read an article by Jennifer Robson's at

http://time.com/5457007/queen-elizabeth-wedding-dress/

The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding
By Jennifer Robson
William Morrow, 9780062884275, 400pp.
Publication Date: December 31, 2018
List Price: 26.99*

Louisa on the Front Lines: Louisa May Alcott in the Civil War by Samantha Seiple

Louisa on the Front Lines by Samantha Seiple recounts the little-known story of Louisa's experience as a nurse and how it affected her life and her writing. 

At a time when women were considered to be weak physically and intellectually, Louisa May Alcott challenged every stereotype of her sex, from running through the streets for health to supporting a woman's right to vote.

Her father Bronson Alcott's extreme idealism made him unsuitable as a father of a large family. His wife Abby worked any job she could find to support them. Lu took the burden of breadwinner on herself, working in various jobs "suitable" for a gentlewoman and by writing sensational stories. She was expected to marry and thereby help her struggling family but preferred independence. "I'd rather be a free spinster and paddle my own canoe," she wrote.

When the Civil War broke out, Lu watched the young men march off and felt frustrated with merely sewing "for the boys" and making lint for the hospitals. The establishment of the Sanitary Commission and appointment of Dorothea Dix as superintendent of female nurses led to a call for the first women nurses. A nurse had to be single, over thirty, and "plain." Lu applied and, with her family's blessing, traveled to Washington, D.C. to work in a hospital. 

It is all very well to talk of the patience of woman; and far be it from me to pluck that feather from her cap, for, heaven knows, she isn't allowed to wear many; but the patient endurance of these men, under trials of the flesh, was truly wonderful. Their fortitude seemed contagious, and scarcely a cry escaped them, though I often longed to groan for them, when pride kept their white lips shut, while great drops stood upon their foreheads, and the bed shook with the irrepressible tremor of their tortured bodies.from Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott

Louisa wrote Hospital Sketches about her experiences, the first to document life for nurses during the war. It was a sensation during her lifetime. Somehow, we have forgotten this part of her life. 

In vivid detail, Seiple recounts the hard work and long hours in a subpar facility, the suffering of the boys, the awful food, the ineffectual medical treatments, the high death rate, and how workers stole from the supplies and the wounded. Lu realized the importance of her role as surrogate mother, sister, and wife for the suffering and dying men.

Marmee received bad news from the war
Little Woman quilt designed by Marion Cheever Whiteside Newton
Hand applique and hand quilted by Nancy A. Bekofske

....at the Hurly burly Hotel, disorder, discomfort, bad management, and no visible head, reduced things to a condition which I despair of describing. from Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott

The experience changed Lu's life. She had seen the world, became close to the dying boys, and had contracted typhus and became mortally ill. Bronson brought Lu back home and she survived, although her health never fully returned. 

Having lived fully, profoundly affected by the men she nursed, Lu went on "to create characters and stories that would transcend the page and full her readers' hearts." Including her most famous novel, Little Women.

I very much enjoyed Louisa on the Front Lines. Although it focuses on the few months Lu spent as a nurse, there is enough background information on her family and life to provide a fuller context. The battlefield is brought to life as a background to the men Lu nursed. It is a moving story.

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

Louisa on the Front Lives
by Samantha Seiple
Seal Press
Publication Feb. 26, 2019
$27 hardcover
ISBN: 9781580058049

Little Women by Nancy A. Bekofske
Pattern by Marion Cheever Whiteside Newton
hand appliqued and hand quilted

Learn more about Louisa May Alcott:
Meg Jo Beth Amy by Anne  Boyd Rioux
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-story-of-little-women-and-why-it.html

The River Widow by Anne Howard Creel

"Over the course of her life, she had learned that people could hold inside the brightest peaks and the darkest pits, and there were those who straddled the break--half of them drawn to evil, half drawn to beauty. Those people could step from one side to the other and back again as if the line were as thin as a hair. Her husband had been one of those people. Was she one of them, too?"  from The River Widow by Anne Howard Creel

In 1937 Paducah, KY as the Ohio River was flooding, Adah's husband Lester once again lost his temper and began to beat her. In desperation, Adah grabbed a nearby shovel and lashed out at Lester, striking him in the head. 

Horrified by what she had done, she dragged his body to the raging river, desperately hoping it would carry away the evidence of her crime.

Adah's guilt is heavy, but she has the motivation to carry on.  She loves Daisy, Lester's daughter from his first marriage.  Lester's family insist that Daisy and Adah stay with them. 

The Branch clan is feared for their violence and imperious disregard for decency and the law. They suspect there is more to the story of Lester's death. Adah works on the tobacco farm like an indentured servant and hires herself out to do laundry to add to the family's income. She is unable to protect Daisy from the harsh punishments and rough treatment meted out by her father's kinfolk, but at least she can comfort and love the child.

As the months go by, Adah struggles with one question: how can she get Daisy out of the Branch family's clutches? In the meantime, she learns more about Lester and his family--and meets a man who offers her an alternate future.

The River Widow by Anne Howard Creel has an almost Gothic atmosphere, the story of a woman isolated and held against her will, powerless and unprotected. The bulk of the novel is psychological and internal. The suspense comes not in action as much as through emotion and insight. At times I was reminded of Jane Austen's character Fanny from Mansfield Park, a girl completely dependent, suffering, without any power for self-determination, but with a moral clarity that sets her apart.

I learned that one of Creel's books had been made into a movie, The Magic of Ordinary Days, had been made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. We watched it and enjoyed it very much.

Learn more about the author and The River Widow at
https://www.annhowardcreel.com/about

I thank the author for a copy of her book and other gifts, a win through the American Historical Novels Facebook Group.

from her website: 

Ann Howard Creel writes historical novels about strong female characters facing seemingly impossible obstacles and having to make life-changing decisions. In her new novel, THE RIVER WIDOW, a former tarot-card reader turned widow and stepmother must escape the clutches of an evil family while also facing the crime she herself has committed. In THE WHISKEY SEA, a fierce young woman becomes one of the only female rumrunners on the Atlantic Coast during Prohibition. And in WHILE YOU WERE MINE, a New York City nurse must give up the child she has raised as her own during World War II.
​
When asked where she gets her ideas, Ann answers, “From history.” She doesn’t know when the muse will strike, but often while reading about history, she sees an image in her mind. The spark for THE RIVER WIDOW came while learning about The Great Flood of 1937 along the Ohio River. Ann immediately saw a woman dragging her abusive husband’s body to the river to let floodwaters take it away. Rather strange, she knows.
​
In the works are new novels about an American horsewoman joining an all-female group of doctors, nurses, and ambulance drivers during World War I and a tale of an American teacher needing an escape who inherits a Paris nightclub just as Europe is steadily marching toward war.
​
Besides writing, Ann's other interests include old houses, new yoga routines, red wine, and all things cat.  For book clubs, Ann will visit you via Skype. Contact her through her website: www.annhowardcreel.com.

Helen Korngold Diary: February 17-23, 1919

This year I am sharing the 1919 diary of Helen Korngold of St. Louis.

Helen Sarah Korngold, Dec. 1919, New York City

February
Monday 17
Wellston. Kept box of candy. Class. Home—4th unanswered letter from J. K. Also a very beautiful book souvenir of N.Y. it’s a dream. Studied.

Tuesday 18
Wellston—exam. Class—Home—correct papers—lecture—Summer came—Holmes-Smith lectured. Summer gave us his photo. Handsome!

Wednesday 19
Wellston—last day. Kids hated to see me leave. But I didn’t have to leave. Class. Basket Ball. Home.

Thursday 20
Geol. exam. Rotten. Nothing exciting.

Friday 21
Practiced with Aunt Beryl—school. Played with Maizie Rothman & Irene Miller. Lovely. Dancing. Home—Rushed thru dinner. Summer came & all of us went to Gatis’ & to auto show. Pretty good.

Saturday 22
Washington’s Birthday. Board hike called off. Wrote invitation for kid party at Sara’s. Home—slept. Played at Oddfellows Lodge. Earned $5, Puck [?] got $3. Soft.

Sunday 23
Fooled around. T. Haas engagement reception in evening. Engaged to Marcus. Nice couple.

Notes:

February 21

On the 1910 census, Maizie Rothman appears as the daughter of Paul Rothman, a physician, and Rosa, a mid-wife, and had an older sister who was also a physician. Both parents were from Russia.

Maizie Rothman

Irene Miller appears in the University of Missouri yearbook of 1921 as a Spanish major.

Irene Miller in the 1922 Hatchet Senior Class Photo

The 12th Annual St. Louis Auto Show was held at the former Southern Hotel daily from 11 am to 11 pm from February 17 to 22. Matinees cost 25 cents and Nights 50 cents. Their display ad read, "All the 1919 Passenger Cars. A Commercial Car Selection. Automotive Equipment Section."

The Feb. 21 newspaper article noted record turnouts with an estimated 6,500 in attendance. "Throng beats any preceding one in number and enthusiasm." "They came early and they stayed late," "debutants and matrons, richly gowned and with eyes that sparkled as brightly as the jewels they wore," "many of the women were decollette and there was  more than a sprinkling of men in full-dress attire."

"And the automobiles! They just seemed to beam with the joy of being there--and being admired."

Many sales were expected.

February 22

Daniel David Wolf (b. 1895) is mentioned on Jan 25 and May 8. His WWI draft card shows he was of medium height and weight with brown eyes and black hair. He lived in Valley Park with his mother Rose and worked for Wagoner Electric in St. Louis. The 1920 St. Louis Census shows him living with his mother Rose, who was of Hungarian German heritage. Rose owned and operated a dry goods store which she ran along with Dan, her daughter Carrie, age 20, and son Milton, age 14. Daughter Adelaide was age 18.  Daniel married Clementine Marcus in 1931. He died in 1963 in St. Louis.

Dan's father Charles Wolf started Wolf’s Dry Goods Store. His mother was Tose Weiss. Wolf’s sister married Rudolph Gates, father of Helen’s friends Morris and Jeanette Gates. The 1900 St. Louis Census shows Charles (born 1869) as a ‘burger’ with his family Rosa, (born 1872), Milton (1895), Daniel (1896), son Carrie (1898), Adelaide (1899). Also living with the family was Charles’ father Samuel (born in 1827 and arrived in America in 1860) and Charles’ brother Phillip (1862) who worked in a mercantile business. They also had a servant.

February 23

Marcus Demosthenes White appears in the 1919 Washington University School of Medicine graduating class but he appears to have married a Wimsett.