Heartbroken after the loss of her father, schoolteacher Eliza Caine is desperate to leave London. When she applies for a position as a governess at a home outside Norwich, she is surprised at her potential employer’s response: he doesn’t ask about her education or for references, or even tell her the number and age of…
Category: Review
Quickie Reviews: Cozy Winter Reads
If summer is the best time for light reads, winter is the best time for cozy ones. Here’s what’s keeping me curled up with endless cups of hot chocolate this month. Meet the Austins The first in Madeleine L’Engle’s Austin Family series. 12 year-old Vicky Austin lives happily in a big farmhouse with her parents,…
Review: Equal Rites
In a small village tucked away in a quiet corner of the Discworld, a dying wizard passes his powers on to the newborn eighth son of an eighth son. There’s just one snag: the newborn is actually a girl. The village’s witch, Granny Weatherwax, is aghast. There’s never been a female wizard, so why start…
Review: Working
What is work? Is it just something that gets us a paycheck, or does it give our lives meaning? Is some work better or more valuable than others? In 1974 the historian and radio broadcaster Studs Terkel published Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do….
Review: Lincoln’s Battle with God
The debate over whether or not Abraham Lincoln was a “real” Christian began before he was elected to political office, and continues over 150 years after his assassination. He was an avowed atheist in his youth; yet Mary Lincoln said that her husband’s last words were a whispered longing to travel to Jerusalem and walk…