Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars by Francesca Wade

These five women...all pushed the boundaries of scholarship, of literary form, of societal norms: they refused to let their gender hold them back, but were determined to find a different way of living, one in which their creative work would take precedence.~ Francesca Wade, Square Haunting

Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars by Francesca Wade links writers H.D., Dorothy Sayers, Virginia Woolf, Eileen Power, and Jane Ellen Harrison through their time residing in London's Mecklenburgh Square. They were born in the late 19th c. and by full adulthood saw a changed world that allowed women to vote and the opening of professions to women.They defied the narrow role assigned to women to become masters of their craft.

Each woman's life and career is illuminated through their shared experience in one place. Their time in Mecklenburgh Square was pivotal to their development.

I was familiar with Woolf, knew the work of Sayers and a bit about H.D., but Power and Harrison were unfamiliar. How sad! Harrison broke through the gender barrier to become a professional scholar.  Her research impacted the Imagist writers and T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land. Power was a fashionable and attractive academic of economics. I realized that I had read her book Medieval People several times!

I was fascinated by these women and their stories. Wade delivers a compelling narrative that combines insight and significance and good story-telling.

...real freedom entails the ability to live on one's own terms, not to allow one's identity to be proscribed or limited by anyone else.~ from Square Haunting by Francesca Wade

I was given a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

from the publisher:

In the early twentieth century, Mecklenburgh Square—a hidden architectural gem in the heart of London—was a radical address. On the outskirts of Bloomsbury known for the eponymous group who “lived in squares, painted in circles, and loved in triangles,” the square was home to students, struggling artists, and revolutionaries. 

In the pivotal era between the two world wars, the lives of five remarkable women intertwined at this one address: modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and author and publisher Virginia Woolf. In an era when women’s freedoms were fast expanding, they each sought a space where they could live, love, and—above all—work independently. 

With sparkling insight and a novelistic style, Francesca Wade sheds new light on a group of artists and thinkers whose pioneering work would enrich the possibilities of women’s lives for generations to come.

Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars
by Francesca Wade
Crown Publishing
Tim Duggan Books
Pub Date April 7, 2020
ISBN: 9780451497796
hardcover $28.99 (USD)

Johnny One-Eye : A Tale of the American Revolution by Jerome Charyn

"Where should I begin my unremarkable life?"~Johnny One-Eye

Johnny One-Eye proclaims to have led an unremarkable life.

Don't believe it.

Born John Stocking, age uncertain, as is his sire; son of Gert, madame of Queen's Yard, and raised with her nuns; King's College educated and former classmate of 'Ham' Alec Hamilton; lost an eye serving under Benedict Arnold; employed and threatened by patriots and redcoats alike; a scribbler, a pirate, an innkeeper, prisoner, changeling, divil---and "a man who hid beneath a madrigal of words."

"Are you soldier or civilian?" the general asked John when they first meet. John is bound and with a rifle against his side, caught in the act of adding a purgative to the general's soup.

"Both. I'm a secret agent," Johnny quips.

Major Treat, Washington's chief of intelligence, calls Johnny a frog "who leaps back and forth between the royals and us." Which makes him a brilliant character to bring readers behind the scenes, patriot and British.

Johnny is buffeted by the shifting tides of war, depending on which army is in control of New York. He is only loyal to the people he loves.

John loves the king for his education at King's College. He loves Benedict Arnold, even after his acts of treason. He loves Gert. He loves George Washington who finds solace with his beloved red-haired Gert--and in games vingt-et-un at Queen's Yard. And sometimes he finds solace with Johnny, a tenuous connection to Gert.

Most of all, Johnny loves Clara, a foundling octoroon who is more than a nun for hire, even more than an Aristotle-reading uncommon beauty. Imperious and defiant, Clara dominates unforgettable scenes, including ministering to the African soldiers abandoned by the British after the battle of Yorktown.

Charyn's war novel takes readers through history in the style of the 18th c novels with stories adventurous and bawdy, panoramic in scope. Yes, it is "rollicking" and "picaresque" as the cover contends. Perhaps it is this time of Covid-19, but I also felt the hangman's noose and cold rifle against my ribs, the losses and the desperation.

***

Like so many civilians caught up in times of war, Johnny serves at the pleasure of those in power. He is surrounded by men desperate to gain advantage over the enemy. Everyone can be forced to become a spy--an orphan boy, a desperate widow, an octoroon whore.

I think of my own ancestor conscripted into the Confederate militia although he came from pacifist Swiss Brethren who did not believe in oaths to the state. Or my German nationalist Baptist great-grandfather who left Russia to escape serving in the czar's army. The winds of war drove my husband's Palatine ancestors to leave their once verdant homeland, some to England and America, and some to Poland then Russia and finally to America. My ancestor's grave marks him a Revolutionary War veteran, but he was conscripted. We little people are nothing but chaff buffeted by the wind.

Our true stories are about who we love.

***

This 'tale of the American Revolution' includes all the history I have read, Benedict Arnold despised as a traitor by patriots and loyalists alike, John Andre and Lafayette and Alexander Hamilton and Peggy Shippen and the British generals and admirals appear.

As do the major moments.

George Washington, his leadership threatened, shocks and softens the hearts of men when he dons his spectacles and admits, "I have grown gray in your service and now find myself growing blind..."

I get a lump in my throat. He was not perfect. But he did forgo personal power for an idea--a country ruled by the people and not a monarchy. A republic, if we can keep it.

"But this war cannot go on forever. One side will win," Johnny says to Mrs. Loring, 'war wife' of General Howe of the redcoats. She responds, "I am not so certain. Both sides might also lose." Johnny considers that perhaps both sides had already lost, "with killing and plunder as a permanent language."

George Washington won the war and a nation was born. At the end of the novel he is lionized, his errors overlooked. But he is a ghost after seven years of war, wandering his farm, peacetime "but a sweet deception."

Johnny survives the hurricane. He gains the reward of true love. It is all any of us really want in this life. Survive the battle anyway we can and cleave to those we love. 

The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

All any of us want is a little attention, she thought...~from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

Poor Mary Bennett, the 'ugly duckling' sister, the comic foil, the forgotten and ignored child! Portrayed in film as squinting, clueless, socially inept, pseudo-intellectual, and plain.

Her story must be depressing. She watches her older sisters marry well for love, and her silliest, youngest sister at least snags a handsome rake. Even Charlotte Lucas gets her ever after--happy to have a home if not Mr. Collins as a mate.

Janice Hadlow's debut novel The Other Bennett Sister channels Austen's character Mary Bennett, imagining a worthy character who lives into a richer life. The novel shows inspiration from Austen's story and themes yet Hadlow develops the story in an original way, true to the historical time and setting.

Themes of self-realization, self-recreation, learning through error, prejudice and pride, sense and sensibility are all a part of Mary's path.

The first part of the book follows Pride and Prejudice from Mary's perspective. Those of us familiar with Austen's novel must be patient; the best is to come. We do learn that Mary had taken to reading theology and philosophy hoping for her father's approval.

After her sisters, including Kitty, are married and Mr. Bennett has passed, twenty-year-old Mary and Mrs. Bennett are dependent on the rich sisters. Miss Bingley takes out her disappointment on Mary with whispered jabs. And the Darcy household is too happy and perfect to easily allow her room. In desperation, Mary turns to the Gardiners. They offer Mary the example of a happy marriage, value her for herself, and provide good counsel.

When Mary is convinced to select a new wardrobe to better suit London society, I loved the descriptions of spotted and stripped and sprigged muslins, the fad colors of coromandel and jonquil, the green dress that will replace the dull colors that had allowed Mary to previously disappear into the woodwork.

In her simple elegance, Mary takes her place in society and attracts the attention of several men. One combines good sense and steadiness with a love of poetry. The other embraces free-thinking and prefers the pursuit of sensation as life's goal.

She meets men with a love of the novel. I love the many references to the literature and poetry that arises in conversation:

William Godwin's Poetic Justice 
Mary Wollstonecraft 
Lord Byron and Shelley
Tintern Abbey and We Are Seven by William Wordsworth; also his Guide to the Lakes
Evelina by Fanny Burney
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Pamela and Sir Charles Grandison by Samuel Richardson

I loved how the Romantic Era makes its impact on her life with Mary's (unsuitable) beau extolling feeling and sensation and rejecting cultural expectations and values, especially concerning the role of women and marriage as a socio-economic compromise.

Our lives are so brief and yet we spend so much of them obeying rules we did not make.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

Mary early prefers the steady man. But his reticence leaves Mary to be persuaded into unwise decisions.

This landscape gives us a proper sense of perspective. It shows us our smallness in the great scheme of things.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

The Lakes

The Gardiners take that trip to the Lake District they had once planned for Elizabeth; Mary's preferred beau accompanies them while the other just shows up.

Before she came to the Lakes, she had read a great deal about the subline--sights so extraordinary they could not be adequately described, only felt and experienced. She had never expected to feel for herself such an extraordinary consummation.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

...they caught sight of the great lake at Windermere; then they were quiet, for it was a sight magnificent enough to silence anyone.~ from The Other Bennett Sister

The group decides to walk up the second largest mountain in England. It is a rocky climb that will last all day--and threatens Mary's future happiness.

hikers on Scafell

The romance has enough twists and turns for any Austen lover, with the satisfaction of a happy ending. This is not a plot giveaway--any Austen fan fiction must have it's happily ever after.

Hadlow has given us a fantastic read.

I was given access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

The Other Bennet Sister
by Janice Hadlow
Henry Holt & Company
Pub Date 31 Mar 2020 
ISBN 9781250129413
PRICE $27.99 (USD)

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer

I was so relieved when Benjamin Dreyer confessed. "When I started out as a copy editor, I realized that most of what I knew about grammar I knew instinctively.”  I was not alone!

He won my heart by adding, "Even now I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what a nominative absolute is, I think that the word "genitive" sounds vaguely smutty, and I certainly don't know, or care to know, how to diagram a sentence. I hope I'm not shocking you."

We did diagram sentences in junior high....in 1965... Don't ask me how to do that now.

In school, I often got an A for content and a C for grammar and spelling. I never did learn to touch type with accuracy, and any proficiency I had gained in spelling has disappeared.

I often said that I came out of Temple University knowing how to read intelligently. I was quite unemployable and ended up in customer service and sales.

When I got a job as a copywriter/copyeditor in promotion for a small publishing house (I had worked for a former employee and my new boss thought I had learned her skills through osmosis), I worked hard to correct my errors by reading grammar books. My coworker and I had many heated discussions about how to write; she was a grammar nerd.

Later in life, while schooling our son, my family all were writing and  we would critique each other. I had become a member of the dreaded 'grammar police' and oversensitive to bad writing habits.

I took short-term editing jobs and people hated me. I edited a manuscript for a self-published author who appreciated my insight and gave me double our agreed on price.

Well, that was a long time ago. I had thrown out my ragged grammar books before a move. Now, I needed a refresher course. And hearing so many good things about Dreyer's English, bought an ebook.

What a treasure! So much useful information, shared in such an entertaining way! A joy to read!

I now understand why I never know if I should use gray or grey. My history of reading British writers had me totally confused.

I am very grateful.

Learn more at
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/232363/dreyers-english-by-benjamin-dreyer/

The Story of More by Hope Jahren

Having hope requires courage.~from The Story of More by Hope Jahren

Succinct, well organized, and with a powerful narrative that is engrossing and accessible, The Story of More crunches down what I have read in numerous books into 224 pages.

Author Hope Jahren, author of the best-selling memoir Lab Girl, based the book on her climate change classes.

"All of this has convinced me that it's time to bring global change out of my classroom and into this book," Jahren writes in the introduction. "So if you'll listen, I'll tell you what happened to my world, to your world--to our world. It changed."

She starts at the very beginning--the fact that humans are on this earth and that our population is continually growing. Following a logical narrative, Jahren covers how we get our food and our growing energy use and the changes we have wrought on earth.

Along the way she points out that we have enough of everything but it is not shared equitably. Millions live without enough food, clean water and other things some of us take for granted. And millions of us spend money on things we don't need, wasting the clean water and energy available.

Scientists have been aware for nearly my entire lifetime that our dependence on fossil fuels was a problem. We have seen the environmental damage caused by human activity, including factory farms and our dependence on gasoline fueled cars and air travel. We know that the sea level is rising  and glaciers and the polar ice caps are melting.

Jahren concludes with actions we can all take.

First, we must determine our personal values. Learn what you can about what you value. Are your personal activities in line with those values? What about your personal investments--are they in line with your values? How we spend our money and how we invest our money should reflect what we believe. Share your values with institutions to pressure change.

Americans can make a huge impact. Every step we take to limit our energy use and reduce our consumption makes an impact. We can't give up. We can do with less.

Do not be seduced by lazy nihilism.~ from The Story of More  by Hope Jahren

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

Read an excerpt or hear an audio excerpt at
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/575671/the-story-of-more-by-hope-jahren/

from the publisher

Hope Jahren is an award-winning scientist, a brilliant writer, a passionate teacher, and one of the seven billion people with whom we share this earth. In The Story of More, she illuminates the link between human habits and our imperiled planet. In concise, highly readable chapters, she takes us through the science behind the key inventions—from electric power to large-scale farming to automobiles—that, even as they help us, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere like never before. She explains the current and projected consequences of global warming—from superstorms to rising sea levels—and the actions that we all can take to fight back. At once an explainer on the mechanisms of global change and a lively, personal narrative given to us in Jahren’s inimitable voice, The Story of More is the essential pocket primer on climate change that will leave an indelible impact on everyone who reads it.

The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here
by Hope Jahren
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Pub Date March 3, 2020
ISBN: 9780525563389
$15.00 (USD) hardcover

Deeds Not Words

cover Deeds Not Words

Deeds Not Words features art quilts that appeared in an exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The traveling, juried exhibition included twenty-nine award-winning quilt artists.

Over eighty years, women fought to gain the vote. The title of this book comes from Emmeline Pankhurst who in 1903 used the slogan "Deeds Not Words" for the Women's Social and Political Union. An accompanying essay addresses the history of the movement and another offers insight into the artists at work.

The book includes photos of early and history quilts that incorporated visual references to the movement.

Each quilt is presented with an artist's comment that explains the history behind her chosen theme and a brief bio of the artist. The quilts are presented in large photographs of the whole and in detail. The methods represented are diverse and represent each artist's unique style.

This is art that inspires and educates. From Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, I learned about Detroit suffragist Ethel Willimans Harkless and the racist element of the Sufferage movement. I had no idea that the FBI called Jane Addams "a most dangerous woman" because of her work as a social reformer, feminist, and pacifist. Addams won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Laura Wasilowski portraits Addams 'mug shots' in her quilt.

Read more about the artist on her quilt First Ladies 

In the Appendix, there is a list of all the women whose names appear in Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry's quilt First Ladies, women who were the first to accomplish what had only been done by men or who "moved equality forward for others." It is an impressive list! Also is a list of women featured on Sandoval's quilt of Africa-American Suffragists and Colored Women's Clubs.

Deeds Not Words will interest a wide range of readers and will spur an interest in learning more about these brave and inspiring women.

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

Sara Bard Field by Martha Wolfe

Nasty Women Keep Fighting by Sue Bleiweiss

about the authors:

Sandra Sider, a studio quilt artist since the 1980s, has led critique workshops for Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) since 2005. She holds an MA in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Between 2010 and 2013, Sider served as president of SAQA, and today she is editor of SAQA's Art Quilt Quarterly as well as curator of the Texas Quilt Museum. She has written or edited more than a dozen books concerning contemporary quilt art. www.sandrasider.com

Curator of the New England Quilt Museum, Pamela Weeks has been a quilter, fiber artist, quilt historian, and state-juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. For eight years she was the executive director of ABC Quilts, where the mission was to send handmade quilts to babies and young children born HIV-positive or drug affected, around the world. Weeks lives in New Hampshire.

Deeds Not Words 
by Sandra Sider and Pamela Weeks
Schiffer Publications
March 28, 2020
ISBN 9780764359170, 0764359177
96 pages, softcover
$19.99 USD

What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha

This is the story of the most important and emblematic environmental and public health disaster of this young century. Most bluntly, it is the story of a government poisoning its own citizens, and then lying about it. [...]this is also a story about the deeper crises we're facing right now in our country: a breakdown in democracy; the disintegration of critical infrastructure due to inequality and austerity; environmental injustice that disproportionately affects the poor and black; the abandonment of civic responsibility and our deep obligations as human beings to care and provide for one another. Along with all that--which is a lot already--it's about a bizarre disavowal of honesty, transparency, good government, and respect for scientific truth. ~from What the Eyes Don't See by  Mona Hanna-Attisha

What the Eyes Don't See is a riveting read. Hanna-Attisha is a pediatrician at Hurley Hospital in Flint, MI. Her narrative of how she discovered rising levels of blood in her pediatric patients and her battle to bring justice to the disenfranchised people of Flint is inspiring and maddening.

She describes her anguish and determination to save the children of Flint, how it disrupted her private and family life, and the brick walls and rejection she faced. Thankfully, she was stubborn and determined.

The callousness of political leaders toward the people of Flint as unimportant and expendable is despicable.

Flint falls right into the American narrative of cheapening black life.~from What the Eyes Don't See by Mona Hanna-Attisha

Readers are given a history of Flint's rise as an automotive manufacturing hub, and when jobs left, its decline to becoming one of the state's most impoverished cities.

The budget-cutting changes implemented under an appointed Emergency Manager explains how the lead-poisoned water came to be and how officials lied about the poisoned water.

If I had to locate an exact cause of the crisis, above all others, it would be the ideology of extreme austerity and "all government is bad government".~from What the Eyes Don't See by Mona Hanna-Attisha

Dr. Hanna-Attisha called out Senator Debbie Stabenow as an early and important supporter of her goals. The daughter of a nurse, and a former social worker, Senator Stabenow has a commitment to public health. She was part of a team that brought federal aid to Flint and the availability of premixed infant formula so Flint mothers did not need to use the lead-contaminated water.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is a local heroine. I am proud to say that she was a graduate of Royal Oak Kimball High School, my alma mater. Her family came to Michigan for education but remained in exile from their homeland after the takeover by Saddam Hussein and the Iraq wars. Dr. Hanna-Attisha first became an activist with a Kimball environmental group.

I read an ebook through the local public library.