Tag: WWI

The Crushed Poppy.

Book Review for “Under the Cover of Mercy” by Rebecca Connolly. Summary: "The Great War has come to Brussels, and Edith Cavell, Head Nurse at Berkendael Medical Institute, faces an impossible situation. She has sworn an oath to help any who are wounded, under whatever flag they are found. But Governor von Lüttwitz, the ranking … Continue reading The Crushed Poppy. →

TCL’s #DNF Friday – 2022 Recap.

The Chocolate Lady's Worst Books of 2022! It wasn't that long ago that I shied away from quitting a book. But I'm getting older, and since I retired, I refuse to deprive myself. That means I will no longer suffer through a book I'm not enjoying. I should have done this sooner, I know. In … Continue reading TCL’s #DNF Friday – 2022 Recap. →

Scandals Crossing the Pond.

Book Review for “The American Adventuress” by C.W. Gortner. Summary: "A big, juicy biopic novel by the author of Mademoiselle Chanel about the scandalous life of Jennie Jerome Churchill, mother of Winston, an heiress from New York who married into one of England’s most storied families but who always lived life on her own terms, … Continue reading Scandals Crossing the Pond. →

Tricolors for Trying Times.

Book Review for “The Women of Chateau Lafayette” by Stephanie Dray. Summary: 1774. Gently-bred noblewoman Adrienne Lafayette becomes her husband's political partner in the fight for American independence. But when their idealism sparks revolution in France, and the guillotine threatens everything she holds dear, Adrienne must choose to renounce the complicated man she loves, or … Continue reading Tricolors for Trying Times. →

Smithies at War.

Book Review for “Band of Sisters” by Lauren Willig. Summary: "A scholarship girl from Brooklyn, Kate Moran thought she found a place among Smith’s Mayflower descendants, only to have her illusions dashed the summer after graduation. When charismatic alumna Betsy Rutherford delivers a rousing speech at the Smith College Club in April of 1917, looking … Continue reading Smithies at War. →

A Little Dobbs Will Do You!

Book Review for “Maisie Dobbs” (Maisie Dobbs Mystery #1) by Jacqueline Winspear. Summary: “Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, began her working life at the age of thirteen as a servant in a Belgravia mansion, only to be discovered reading in the library by her employer, Lady Rowan Compton. Fearing dismissal, Maisie is shocked when she … Continue reading A Little Dobbs Will Do You! →

Perching in Perilous Pockets.

Book Review for “Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey” by Kathleen Rooney. Official blurb: From the green countryside of England and the gray canyons of Wall Street come two unlikely heroes: one a pigeon and the other a soldier. Answering the call to serve in the war to end all wars, neither Cher Ami, the messenger … Continue reading Perching in Perilous Pockets. →

More Daring than Darling.

Book Review for “Lady Clementine” by Marie Benedict. This is the story of Clementine Churchill, the woman married to Winston Churchill, best known as the man who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Although most people know of Winston’s exploits, which included successes and failures alike, the woman at his side set a … Continue reading More Daring than Darling. →

A Good Ghost.

Book Review for “Signed, Mata Hari” by Yannick Murphy. Margaretha Zelle, aka Mata Hari, was a woman who lived a strange and disjointed life, and died in disgrace, executed for her spying during the first World War. This historical, biographical novel describes her complex history from her early life in the Netherlands, to her loveless … Continue reading A Good Ghost. →