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Molly and Kip are trying to find the Windsors, their new home of employment, but the locals are not making it easy for them.  Every time Molly asks, they speak of the sour woods and tell Molly that she should stay away.  But it's not like Molly has a choice - she and her brother are far from home and without parents.  When they encounter Hester Kettle on the road, they seem to have found a piece of luck.  She is willing to tell the children how to get to the Windsors for a promise of future stories. Molly agrees and they are soon on their way.

Molly's introduction to the family is a far cry from welcoming.  Hired by the Windsor's solicitor, Constance has no idea Molly is coming and is less than pleased to find her telling stories to her young daughter Penny in the dusty foyer of the house.  Constance and her son Alistair want Molly and Kip to leave immediately, but Molly is able to use her gift of the gab to convince them that they would much rather live in a well tended house, and that she and Kip can provide it for them.

She will soon live to regret this move, as the family and the house seem to be harboring dark secrets.  While she is able to throw herself into the ample work of cleaning up the household during the day, it is at night when Molly is most afraid.  Every night since she's been sleeping in the house, she has been having terrible nightmares.  And it turns out the darkness isn't just in her mind.  She wakes to find her door open, leaves in her hair and mud on the floor.

As it turns out, the Night Gardener Miss Polly has mentioned is real.  He wanders the house and the grounds at night and has his hand in the nightmares of the household.

And he is not the only dark element at the Windsors' place.  The tree, growing much too close to the house, is more than it seems as well, and will soon ensnare Molly as it has the Windsors.

This is a deliciously scary story that will have readers up into the night to finish. Jonathan Auxier is one of those writers who seems like he's been around forever.  Not because there are a plethora of his books lining the shelves, but because he is a craftsman.  His books have a timeless quality to them and are made of the stuff with staying power.  The Windsor's legacy is slowly revealed piece by piece which helps bring the suspense level to that of a slow burn.  He explores the themes of human weakness and greed, family and loyalty with aplomb.  The setting is expertly laid out and even now as I close my eyes I can see the grounds, the stables and the green door.

Fans of dark fantasy, Victorians, and well crafted stories will be left shivering with delight.

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By Neil Armstrong

In recent years German Christmas markets have been promoted to the English as the epitome of a traditional and authentic Christmas. As germany-christmas-market.org.uk suggests, “if you’re tired of commercialism taking over this holiday period and would like to get right away for a real traditional and romantic Christmas market you might want to consider heading to Germany.” If a trip to Germany is impossible, a visit to a German Christmas market nearer to home is more feasible. Beginning with Lincoln in 1982, German Christmas markets have appeared in a number of British towns and cities.

One of the largest markets outside of the German-speaking world now takes place in Birmingham. In 2006 the Daily Telegraph reported on this, commenting: “The late Queen (Victoria) would have almost certainly have been thinking of her beloved Albert, who is credited with introducing a number of German Christmas traditions to Britain, and who was famously pictured with his then young bride and children beside a decorated tree — a custom which has since become an established norm the length and breadth of the country.” The link between Christmas and Germany automatically conjures the image of Prince Albert and the persistence of the myth of his role in the making of the modern English Christmas. Even before the death of the Prince Consort, children’s books such as Peter Parley’s Annual were making unproblematic claims that the Christmas tree was “introduced” to Britain by Prince Albert. The royal Christmas tree at Windsor Castle was not the first to appear in England, though the appearance of the lithograph representation in the Illustrated London News in 1848 undoubtedly did much to promote the custom.

Pinpointing the precise moment when a ritual practice appears in a new culture for the first time is often difficult. One way of examining the cultural transfer of customs is to look at the activities of artistic and literary elites. The first reference to German Christmas customs to appear in England was Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s account of the Christmas he spent in the German town of Ratzeburg in 1798. He described a Christmas Eve custom according to which children decorated the parlour with a yew bough, secured to a table, fastened little tapers to it, and then laid out presents for their parents (the children received their presents on Christmas Day). This account was published in the periodical The Friend in 1809, and was regularly reprinted during the first half of the nineteenth century. Reaction to it varied. Whilst Thomas de Quincey dismissed the “stage sentimentality” of a description which emphasized the potential of Christmas to promote much “weeping aloud for joy” on the part of parents touched by their children’s conduct, the poet Felicia Hemans took a great interest in German customs and attempted to imitate the tree ritual.

From 1840 a number of German Christmas stories for children were translated and published in England. These books emphasized the Christmas tree as being at the heart of a family-centred celebration, though by this time children were now the main recipients of seasonal gifts. The stories served as a reminder of the German origins of the Christmas tree, a fact which was often repeated when the tree was discussed in the popular press. For example, in his periodical Household Words, Charles Dickens described the tree as “that pretty German toy.” The majority of references to the German Christmas customs were not followed by any commentary of the significance of these origins. More occasionally, writers would eulogise the Germans as a simple, domestic and sentimental people, precisely the characteristics which were increasingly ascribed the festive English hearth. Consequently, the English were able to quickly adopt and naturalize the Christmas tree by making it palatable to the national story.

Despite growing Anglo-German rivalry in the years leading up to the First World War, the English view of the German Christmas persisted at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was played out in the press coverage of the famous Christmas truce of 1914, when British and German troops exchanged cigarettes and food, showed one another pictures of their families, and organised football matches. The best known image of the ceasefire appeared in the Illustrated London News in 1915, featuring a German soldier holding aloft a miniature tree as he approached two British soldiers; this was not only a symbol of peace but also of the values of domesticity and indulgence of childhood.

Whilst the Christmas truce has claimed a prominent place in the mythology of the Great War, it was followed by an abrupt change in Anglo-German relations, which were subsequently defined by anti-German propaganda, the legacy of Nazism, and post-war football rivalry. It is perhaps surprising then, that Germany should re-emerge as a spiritual home of the authentic and traditional Christmas in the English imagination. However, this is testimony to the inherent dynamic of nostalgia embedded in the festival. As I argue in Christmas in Nineteenth-Century England, laments for the loss of Christmases past have been present in festive discourse since the early seventeenth century.

German customs play an important role in the development of the English Christmas, but this argument can only be taken so far. After all, in the nineteenth century the English were no strangers to domesticity and the romanticization of childhood. Furthermore, Christmas is a transnational festival, and all modern Christmases are the product of a multiplicity of cultural transfers.

Neil Armstrong is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Gloucestershire. He is the author of “England and German Christmas Festlichkeit, c.1800–1914″ in German History, which is available to read for free for a limited time.

German History is renowned for its extensive range, covering all periods of German history and all German-speaking areas. Every issue contains refereed articles and book reviews on various aspects the history of the German-speaking world, as well as news items and conference reports. It is an essential journal for German historians and of major value for all non-specialists interested in the field.

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The post German Christmas traditions appeared first on OUPblog.

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"Clara slept. Never in her life had she known so dense a sleep; a sleep without dreaming, without the slightest twitch of finger or eyelid. She was as lifeless as a pressed flower. If she had been awake, she could not have said whether her eyes were open or shut. Her mind was empty, freed from guilt and terror and grief. Only the night before, she had spoken of her fear of cold and darkness; now darkness and cold claimed her, and she was not afraid." 



Overview: 
It is November the sixth, in Victorian London, and Clara Wintermute is turning twelve. To her delight, her father has reluctantly consented to hire the mysterious street performer, Professor Grisini and His Venetian Fantoccini, into their home as her party entertainment.

Yet when the puppetmaster finally arrives, it is his two orphaned assistants, almost-fourteen-year-old Lizzie Rose and probably-eleven-year-old Parsefall, that Clara is most excited to see. Clara thinks their lives must be grand - free from studies, able to perform marionette shows for people out in the open air. Lizzie Rose and Parsefall think Clara's life must be grand - only child of a wealthy household, indulged by her parents, provided with a fine education. But all three children soon find that all is not as they supposed.

Clara vanishes late that evening, with the dark and secretive Grisini pegged as her probable kidnapper. When Grisini suddenly goes missing not long after, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall fear he does indeed have something to do with Clara's disappearance. And soon, they find themselves on an unexpected and dangerous quest to find her. 

For Teachers and Librarians:
Splendors and Glooms is a book that will both hold your students' interest, and provide you with plenty of ways to incorporate the book into a variety of lessons.

It fits nicely into a lesson on literary genres - take your pick of gothic novel, historical fiction, mystery, dark fairy tale, and/or even thriller. And with the magic aspects, vivid dreams, and Lizzie Rose's uncanny sense of smell, you could even argue it touches just a bit if not more so on the edges of paranormal.

The book contains two overlapping stories that eventually converge at a crucial point: after discussion, have your students demonstrate their understanding of this graphically, via Venn Diagram.

Another idea: the author's favorite writer is Charles Dickens, and the book is often described as Dickensian - which leads nicely into a lesson on characteristics of a Dickensian novel, and identification of those characteristics in this book.

During an interview in the Baltimore Sun, the author discusses her interest in Faustian bargains as part of a novel: have your students research and define the term, and then identify the Faustian bargain(s) in this book - who made one, what were the terms, how did things turn out for that character, etc.

You could include the book in a unit on Victorian London: compare/contrast life for rich vs poor, discussing how children fared in each; talk about Victorian mourning customs; have your students research diseases and treatments from that era, with a focus on cholera (which touches Clara's family in a heartbreaking way); plan a lesson on types of entertainment enjoyed during that time period, with a mini-unit on marionette shows and puppetry.

If you have other lesson ideas, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers:
Make sure your kiddos don't have anywhere to be before you hand them Splendors and Glooms, or when it's time to go, you may hear repeated cries of, "Wait! I just have to finish this part first!" It is a book full of mystery, suspense and magic that will keep them wanting to turn pages - but not too quickly. There is much to take in, and they'll want to take their time to make sure they experience it all. Your young readers will feel for the characters as they navigate the well-meaning yet at times very misunderstood bonds of family, as they work to establish and maintain friendships, as they learn to recognize and trust those people in their lives who prove themselves true and genuine, and as they struggle to find their true place in the world.

For the Kids:
Splendors and Glooms isn't your average, run-of-the-mill book with magic in it. Nope. It has the kind of magic that you have to really pay attention to see. It hides from you, but hints at you. It peeks out from behind the corners, or ducks behind the couch just as you catch a glimpse of it, so that you can't help but chase it around because you just have to know what's going on. At the same time, maybe you're a teensy bit scared to catch up to it - though you'd never admit it - because that magic may or may not be evil. So you read the book. And you keep reading, shivering a little sometimes, peeking through the cracks between the fingers you've clamped over your eyes at other times, and giggling here and there in between, 'cause you just have to know what's going on, and how it all turns out. No matter how long it takes.

Clara is a twelve-year-old rich girl living in Victorian London who seems to have it all in the eyes of almost-fourteen-year-old Lizzie Rose and probably-eleven-year-old Parsefall. Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are assistant puppeteers who seem to live a free and easy life in the eyes of Clara. Each longs for the life of the other, for different reasons. But each of them has secrets and griefs and guilt and fears that none of the others know about. Throw in an evil puppetmaster and a doomed and vengeful witch, and you've got the makings of a book that you Will. Not. Put. Down.

For Everyone Else:
What can I say about Splendors and Glooms that I haven't already said? Probably plenty. But no matter what your age, if what I've said so far isn't enough to entice you to read this thoroughly wonderful novel, maybe the section below is:

Wrapping Up:
Splendors and Glooms is the type of book a reader wants to linger over. With an abundance of rich description, many twists and turns, suspense, mystery, touches of humor, a goodly dose of good vs evil in many forms, and variety of very real and strong and relatable emotions, to rush the read means to miss far too much. And not to read it at all would just be a terrible shame. So go. Get the book. Then grab a blanket, curl up on the couch, and start reading.

Title: Splendors and Glooms
Author: Laura Amy Schlitz
Jacket Illustration: Bagram Ibatoulline
Pages: 400
Reading Level: Ages 9 and up
Publisher and Date: Candlewick Press, 2012
Edition: 1st Edition
Language: English
Published In: United States
Price: $17.99
ISBN-10: 0763653802
ISBN-13: 978-0-7636-5380-4

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Title: The Seduction of Phaeton Black Author: Jillian Stone Publisher:  Brava

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

The Seduction of Phaeton Black is like An Affair with Mr Kennedy on steroids.  I have to admit that I was a little leery before I started reading Jillian Stone’s latest release.  How could it live up to my high expectations?  I loved Mr Kennedy, a sexy romp with a Scotland Yard detective who could easily give Remington Steel or James Bond a run for their money.  He is gifted in everything that he does; he’s a magnificent rider, a crack shot, and can hold his own in a fist fight.  Best of all, he’s a wonderful lover and partner.  Guys like Mr Kennedy don’t exist in  real life because the pressure of being that perfect would quickly cause a seizure.  Cassie had me pulling my hair out a few times, because for such an intelligent lady, she could be so dumb, but Zak needed  to be a hero, and a woman with more common sense wouldn’t have needed rescuing.

In steps Phaeton Black.  I admit that it took me a while to warm up to this guy.  He is rather juvenile and thinks with his crotch instead of his brain.  Probably because most people thinks he nuts due to all of the paranormal sightings he has, but still.  He showed an appalling lack of discretion and caution, but I did finally start to appreciate his character.  He’s a flirt and a player, with no plans of ever getting shackled to one woman.  He doesn’t want kids, either, because he’s afraid that they will be as messed up as he is.  After the death of his mother when he was a young lad, his father had no patience for Phaeton or his supernatural abilities, and q

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I was lucky enough to score an ARC of Y. S. Lee's second book in The Agency series (The Body at the Tower) last Fall.  Shame on me for not reviewing it here.  When I saw the third book, (The Traitor in the Tunnel), I scarfed it up.  Now all I have to do is read the first book.

Fans of Victorian England will eat this series up. The period details are well drawn and in the third book the readers even get to meet Victoria herself!!  Here's the set-up.  Mary Quinn is a half-Chinese, half- Irish orphan who is rescued from a life of crime by The Agency, London's only all female private investigation operation.  Mary gets a good education, room and board and training in detective skills.  In The Body at the Tower,  she investigates a scam at an expensive building site and meets James Easton, a dashing engineer.

In The Traitor in the Tunnel, Mary is assigned to Buckingham Palace to solve the mystery of small thefts from the Blue Room.  While she is on assignment in the palace, a drinking buddy of the Prince of Wales is murdered in an opium den and the suspect just may be Mary's long-lost father.  Mary discovers a secret tunnel - not on any of the palace maps - that leads to the new sewer tunnels and a project overseen by....James Easton!  Romance, intrigue, an attempt on the Queen's life and an attempt to find and save her father keep Mary very busy in this third outing.  And there is a promise of more to come and very interesting developments at the end of this book.

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The weekend was all about Mr. Kennedy. What a luscious hunk of man he is.  I love this book, and hated every interruption I suffered while trying to savor this read.  The chemistry between Zak and Cassie was electric, and I could readily believe that he had the power to sweep this intelligent and stubborn woman right off of her feet.

And then there is this passage, that surely sent Cassie’s heart galloping out of control.

After rising her ire, Cassie tries to give Zak the cold shoulder.  It doesn’t work very well.  Zak is too blazing hot for a setdown.

Swoon!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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I just finished Winterling by Sarah Prineas.  What a good book! This is MG fantasy at its best, with a very relatable protagonist, a great big evil to defeat, and a wonderful supporting cast of characters.  Heroine Fer really sealed the deal, though.  She is a caring, brave girl who refuses to let her fears stop her from doing what her heart compels her to.

 

While browsing the comments at Dear Author, I discovered The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. The hero has Asperger’s, which immediately caught my interest.  I purchased it for my Kindle, and so far, I am finding it a hard to put down read.  Ian is proving to be a very unique character, to say the least.

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 Subscribe in a reader

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Title: No Proper Lady Author: Isabel Cooper Publisher: Sourcebooks ISBN: 978-1402259524

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I was originally attracted to this book by the gorgeous cover.  A quick scan of the synopsis heightened my interest in No Proper Lady.  Terminator meets My Fair Lady?  Heck, yeah, I’ll take that bet!  I eagerly dove into the story, and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed.  The plot is unique, the setting is intriguing, and I liked both leads.  I can hardly wait for Isabel Cooper’s next book!

Joan is a fighter, and she is one tough chick.  In a last ditch effort to save humanity, she is sent back in time to assassinate the man responsible for the fall of the human race.  Leaving behind everything she has known, and more importantly, everyone that she loves, Joan’s ticket to the past is irrevocably one-way.  She can never go back to be with her family and her friends.  If she fails her mission, she dooms them to death and destruction.  Joan has survived the horrors of her world, and when she arrives in Simon’s, she is taken aback by the beauty and quiet of his world.  Of the future she and her people were robbed of.   The stakes are high in this game of hers, and Joan isn’t about to fail.  For her, failure is simply not an option.

Simon is having a troubling time himself.  His former best friend has betrayed him.  His sister was almost lost to him, a vessel for a demon.  He frets about how he will keep Eleanor safe, and he worries about how far Alex will let his dark arts sway him.  House parties and genteel manners no longer seem important to the English nobleman; everything that he holds dear is now at risk of being sucked into a darkness so evil there will be no escape for any of them.  When Joan’s time travel spell poofs her in front of Simon, he suddenly has an ally and someone who might just understand how urgently Alex needs to be stopped in his tracks.

I love time travel stories, and this one is a good one.  Joan makes a huge sacrifice to make her journey back in time, and Simon, though slightly skeptical of how awful the situation in the future truly is, readily makes enormous sacrifices as well. 

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Enola is back right where she left off!

She has set up shop in January 1889 as London's only Scientific Perditorian. Of course, she is in disguise as Miss Meshle, a secretary. She is shocked when her first client is none other than Dr. John Watson, friend of her famous brother, Sherlock Holmes. It seems that Sherlock is beside himself that he cannot locate his younger sister Enola.

Enola, of course, is quite pleased that she is hiding right underneath her brother's nose, and feels that she can use Miss Meshle's new relationship with Dr. Watson to her advantage.

Enola is not just using her time to hide from her brothers and boarding school. She is continuing the search for her mother, using the magazines and cipher codes that she knows her mother will read and recognize. Soon enough, she is in communication with her mother. While she is partly happy, Enola is still angry with her mother for leaving her on her own, and at the mercy of her older brothers.

She is also on the hunt for the missing daughter of Lady Theodora Alistaire. The disappearance has been hushed up due to it's discrete nature...it seems that she has run away with a love interest. Upon examination of Lady Cecily's room, however, Enola fears that the young lady did not leave of her own volition.

Chock full of Victorian age details, Nancy Springer has a hit series on her hands. From the stench of poverty, to the pervasive flim-flam artists of the day, the setting and characters seem real. Readers will fear for Enola and Cecily, and be caught up turning pages to find out what happens next.

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Tonight is the grand gala for Doctors and Derrieres II! If you're still interested in seeing the show or bidding on a few pieces (there are some really cool ones in there....) tonight at the Red Strap Market between 7 and 11pm is where you'll find a buzzing crowd, cocktails and of course doctors and arists to chat with.

I will be selling prints of the pieces that were for sale at the auction as well as the rest of my originals soon. I know a couple other artists are going to sell the rest of their pieces as well and we might set up an online store where you can purchase some of these splendid goodies. Hope to see you at the show!

Shown below (and please forgive the reflections on the glass) are artists: Adolfo Ruiz, Amanda Woodward and Gerry Rasmussen.

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