New Book Alert: Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell; Charming and Funny Look At the Life of a Scottish Bookseller

New Book Alert: Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell; Charming and Funny Look At the Life of a Scottish Bookseller

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Shaun Bythell's Confessions of a Bookseller is not long on plot. In fact there is hardly any plot in the book. Instead this sequel to Bythell's previous book, Diary of a Bookseller has plenty of charm, humor, witticisms, and eccentric characters that would be unbelievable in fiction were they not real people.

Bythell owns and operates The Book Shop, Wigtown the largest second hand bookshop in Scotland. This book covers 2015, a year in which he dealt with quirky colleagues, eccentric customers, and the difficulties of running a book store.

Bythell was surrounded by a colorful group of colleagues that could have come out of fiction themselves. There is Granny, an Italian woman, who earned the nickname because she talked about aches and pains and talked about death. Another one is Petra who rented the upstairs apartment to host belly dancing classes. (“Shake, Read, and Roll” would make a good slogan.)

One of the stand outs in this kooky cast is Nicky, Bythell's main employee. She arrived fashionably late, wore black clothes, and brought food on Foodie Fridays (usually stuff that Bythell didn't like.). Often she and Bythell bickered about how the store was run. Nicky gave her two weeks notice once, but the two relied on each other for help and friendship.

Nicky is like most friends and co-workers. You fight, sometimes you want to see the back of each other. But you also rely on each other for loyalty, laughs, strength, and friendship.

As humorous as Bythell's colleagues are, his exchanges with customers are equally as memorable.
One of the struggles Bythell had were donations that meant more to the customers than to Bythell. Many entries feature Bythell driving several hours out of his way to investigate boxes of books only to return with less than a handful because the books were either damaged beyond repair, written by authors that are widely distributed like Dan Brown or Stephanie Meyer, or of only personal interest to the donor. (Family Bibles are out for that reason.)

Another issue the introverted Bythell often had to deal with were talkative customers, who began discussing reading habits then talk about family struggles and personal habits. “NEVER ask for an anecdote when you work in a bookshop,” warned Bythell.

One hilarious roundabout conversation occurred between Bythell and a customer who had to learn the difference between a bookshop and a library.
“Will to live rapidly diminishing,” Bythell inwardly moaned as he said for what seemed like the hundredth time that no she didn't have to return the books once she bought them.

Bythell also had to contend with weird questions asked by customers about what books he had. One asked for a childhood book that she didn't know the name but featured a koala stealing berries. Anyone who works in a book store or library will understand the vague requests. (“I don't remember the name of the book but it has a red cover.”)

Bythell also had to contend with his share of unusual requests both in person and online. One online request asked for Mein Kampf along with other pro-Nazi materials. Bythell didn't know why and didn't want to know.

There were also customers that asked for specific books about certain subjects every day from Scottish genealogy to trains. One of those types of customers was Bythell's father, an avid fisherman who always asked for books about anglers and fish.

Along with colleagues and customers, Bythell also wrote about the advertising that he did to draw in customers, particularly online where he received interest from as far away as Asia, the Americas, and the other European countries. For Christmas, he and Nicky posted two different videos and had the visitors vote on their favorite.

He also wrote about the various quotes that he and other co-workers displayed on Facebook that deal with books and reading. One of those reads “You passed by a Book Shop. Is something wrong with you?”

As much as the Internet was a boon to Bythell's business, it could also be a curse. Bythell became so irritated with customers realizing that they had books on their Kindle that he and a colleague designed and sold “Death to Kindle” mugs at the Book Shop.
In his previous book, Bythell displayed a broken Kindle on the wall of the Book Shop. The display went viral earning Bythell some extra online celebrity.

By far the most eventful time for the Book Shop is the Wigtown Book Festival which takes place during the final week in September. Bythell wrote about the planning, preparation, and organizing an event from a village of less than 100 citizens welcoming people from all over the world. Besides offering discounts, Bythell participated in various events like the Literary Quiz, the optimistically titled Wigtown's Got Talent, and the Fun Run (which he admits is an oxymoron).

While the plot of Confessions of a Bookseller is slight, there is one plot thread that dangles throughout the book. That is Bythell's relationship with his partner, Anna. Anna created different things associated with the Book Shop, like the Writer's House, which offered courses in reading, writing, and art and the Open Book, in which renters can temporarily operate and organize their own bookshop, like an Airbnb. Granny started working there.
As good as Anna was for business, and as good as she and Bythell were personally, they had differences that could not be met. In his mid-forties, Bythell wanted to start a family, Anna was much younger and did not. They broke up and Anna returned to the United States.

Some of the most moving chapters are when Bythell encountered old friends and explained why he was alone, feeling a lump in his throat. During Christmas, he sent her a cordial happy holidays email and wished he could see her in person.

Despite the quirky colleagues, odd customers, and demands on his personal time, Bythell is clearly a man who loves books and loves sharing them with others. This is shown in the first entry when he writes, “The pleasure of handling books that have introduced something of cultural or scientific significance to the world is undeniably the greatest luxury that this business affords and few -if any-
walks of life provide such a wealth of opportunity to indulge in this. This is why, every morning getting out of bed is not an anticipation of a repetitive drudge but in expectation that I may have the chance to hold in my hands a copy of something that first brought to humanity an idea that changed the course of history….That is what it's all about.”

Any of us who work with books whether selling, lending, publishing, appraising, editing, writing, teaching, or reviewing them understand completely.

New Book Alert: A Life Worth Living: Meditations on God, Death, and Stoicism by William Ferraiolo; In Depth Look At Using Stoicism in Times of Trouble

New Book Alert: A Life Worth Living: Meditations on God, Death, and Stoicism by William Ferraiolo; In Depth Look At Using Stoicism in Times of Trouble

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




In William Ferraiolo's previous book Meditations on Self-Discipline and Failure, he introduced the Reader to the concept of Stoicism, a philosophy in which followers practiced reason, rational behavior, and control over emotion. The book offered little paragraphs of advice on various situations.

Ferraiolo's follow up, A Life Worth Living: Meditations on God, Death, and Stoicism is a more in depth look, at using Stoicism during times of great stress. Ferraiolo goes into great detail on how Stoics can face the issues that plague them.

The introduction makes clear what this book is made for. In a master of understatement, Ferraiolo’s intro states “The world is a rough place and no one gets out alive…..We are entitled to have precisely none of it. None of us had to be born.” The important thing to remember is Socrates’ philosophy of “the unexamined life is not worth living.” One way to examine life is with a sense of detachment and looking at the way your emotions and how you react to the world.

Unlike the previous book, Ferraiolo doesn't resort to short homilies that offer brief insights. Instead each chapter is a more detailed look at current issues and how Stoicism can be practiced when faced with him.


One method that Ferraiolo introduces in his book is the IDEA Method, four steps to practice Stoicism. It stands for:

I: Identify the real issue-What is really concerning us? When we are mad about something, what is the root cause of our anger?

D: Distinguish “Internal” from “External”-What is beyond our control-external and what is within our power to change-internal. Is the problem something we can fix, can it be fixed by someone else, by both or neither?

E: Exert Effort Only Where It Can Be Effective-If the problem is internal what can and should be done to fix it? Is it necessary for example to obtain so many material goods when everything falls away? Do we have a good work-life balance?

A: Accept the Rest Amor Fati-If the problem is external, what are the results and how do we accept it? Even if it is internal, have we done everything we possibly could? How do we react at the results with calm and acceptance or with rage and tears?

One of the big issues that plague us in modern society is mental health. While Ferraiolo doesn't dismiss conventional treatment like therapy and medication, he advises the Reader to look at the issues that surround the anxiety.

Concerns about another person's health and well-being lie within that person and not within others surrounding them. Anxieties about death are not necessary because no matter what happens, we are all going to die. When someone is concerned about failure, their anxieties may trouble them so much that their fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The book also discusses the obsession with the needs of the external world such as money, material goods, or constant adulation. Simplicity is living your life without the excesses of the external and appreciating what one has instead of obtaining too much.

Stoicism is also a philosophy that admits free will and is less dependent on the will of a higher deity. While many of the Stoics believed in a God of some form, they knew that their behaviors were in their control. Even modern Stoics can match their behaviors to their current beliefs.

Many practicing Buddhists can find comparisons between their belief and Stoicisms. Like Epictetus the Slave who practiced a life of simplicity, Prince Siddhartha Gautama walked away from his royal life that shielded him from illness, old age, poverty, and death. Buddhists and Stoics share a calmness in the face of suffering and a life of simplicity.

Agnosticism is also a belief system that is joined with Stoicism. Stoics and Agnostics both realize that they know nothing, so they often question the world around them. Ferraiolo counters the thought that Agnostics are inherently weak. On the contrary, he writes that it takes a lot of strength to question and accept that we may not fully know how the Universe works.

Ferraiolo finds Stoicism everywhere even in popular culture. He devotes one whole chapter to Anton Chigurh the sinister hit man from the film, No Country for Old Men. Chigurh has no back story, no motivation. He just is who he is, death incarnate. He is stoic in his behavior and demeanor using a flip of a coin to determine who lives and dies. Ferraiolo cites three examples from the film which illustrates his method of killing. One character says “The coin has no say. It's (Chigurh) who decides.” Chigurh is someone who is completely detached from his emotion to the point that he accepts life and death equally.

Among the big questions philosopher ask is how can evil exist especially if there is a benevolent God. Along with that question is whether we have Free Will.
Morals are the principles in which people live according to spiritual practice, laws, and personal beliefs. The ideal that we are responsible for our behavior and the emotions that occur reflects our principles and how we choose to live. With Stoics the question often is not what happened, but how did I choose to act upon it.

In Roman times, Stoics often chose death over dishonor by suicide. While in modern times, suicide is not a favorable action, one can replace that behavior with an acceptance of death. That's why people sign DNRs or make their last wishes known. Some choose to die rather than suffer in illness. The stoic mindset towards death is to face it as you would life with a calm acceptance.

As before, Ferraiolo shows that Stoicism is not a philosophy for everybody. Humans are by consequence emotional creatures and Stoicism runs counter to that. Instead, it tells us how we can face illness and suffering with change but also acceptance when we can't change it.

Classics Corner: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; Twain's Classics Capture Childhood Innocence and Developing Maturity

                                                                                                                                                                   

Classics Corner: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; Twain's Classics Capture Childhood Innocence and Developing Maturity




By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: I am from Missouri and there is a state law which says “No Reviewer May Review Books Unless They Review Mark Twain At Least Once.” Okay it's not a state law, I just made it up. But, I would feel bad if I did not at least give a shout out to our local boy.

I moved to Missouri in 1992, and live near St. Louis. I have been to Hannibal, Twain's boyhood home several times and enjoy visiting it. So, I am reviewing his two most well known books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

I am reviewing the two books in one because I feel that they are two halves of the same story. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a book of a boy's adventure and is locked in eternal childhood innocence. Huckleberry Finn is a boy's adventure as he faces maturity and becomes an older and wiser person.

Both books are mostly episodic in nature with certain plot threads that carry over throughout the books. Tom Sawyer is mostly filled with Tom's various schemes and adventures with him and his friends getting into and out of trouble. There are some serious plot points in which a character named Injun’ Joe (I apologize for the slur. That is his name). Mostly it is an idyllic picaresque piece about growing up in Tom's native St. Petersburg, Missouri (a stand-in for Twain's Hannibal).

Huckleberry Finn however is less idyllic and more biting and satirical. Most of the adventures deal with Huck and his friend, a runaway slave named Jim, as they escape from Huck's abusive father and Jim's owners. They encounter various characters along the Mississippi River and are often put in danger by feuding families, opportunistic con artists, and various do-gooders who believe it's their duty to sell Jim or civilize Huck or both.

Even comparing the two lead characters provides a contrast between the boy, Tom and the adolescent, Huck. In all of Tom's schemes, he is always in control of the situation. He selects the games that he and the other boys play such as Robin Hood or pirates. He tricks his friends into doing chores such as white washing the fence for him.

He, Huck, and another friend, Joe get lost on an island and though Tom returns to St. Petersburg often, he delays telling the other boys until their deaths are reported and they can attend their own funeral.

Through all of his adventures and play, Tom is never in any serious danger.
Even in situations that are potentially treacherous such as searching for buried treasure that were hidden by dangerous crooks or when Tom and his girlfriend, Becky Thatcher are trapped in a cave, they manage to survive these circumstances with unbelievable luck that ultimately proves rewarding. Tom is insulated in his little world of fun and adventure.

Part of that insulation is because Tom comes from a fairly stable home life. Even though he is an orphan and has a half-brother, Sid suggesting a difficult parentage, not much is made of it. Tom, Sid, and their cousin, Mary are raised by the loving and stern Aunt Polly Sawyer. (his mother's sister adding further possibilities that are never specified that Tom may have had a single mother, possibly even an illegitimate birth, since he and Polly have the same last name.). While Polly is endlessly exasperated by Tom's foolery, she often forgives him for his behavior wishing that he could be good and tries to lead him down the path of righteousness which he does not follow. In Tom's childhood, Twain wrote the perfect ideal for any kid: a life filled with imagination and fun and little punishment for it.

Huck's home life by comparison is not near as stable and by consequence, he has already seen a much harsher world than Tom has. His mother is missing. (A possible retcon since Tom Sawyer reported she left, but Huckleberry Finn made it clear she died. Either way like Tom's mother, she is out of the picture.) He is raised by his abusive father who is the town drunk, so unlike Tom who plays games out of sheer boredom and a desire to fill a very active imagination, Huck goes on these adventures to leave a very tense household, for survival, and to bond with Tom who is one of the few people that shows him any kindness. He was temporarily fostered by Widow Douglas but because of the rough lifestyle he had before, he is unable to adjust to the loving home life that Tom has.

Huckleberry Finn does have some of Tom's imagination and adventurous spirit which he uses to his full advantage while he and Jim travel down the Mississippi River. He assumes different identities to gain access into people's homes and uses his wits when he and Jim are put into danger. Unlike Tom's adventures however, Huck and Jim do not always end up winners and are often on the run again. They are often involved in situations that are beyond their control, so all they can do is run.

These aren't games or play, their adventures are real and are filled with people who really will hurt them. Huck learns that much of his childish behavior has consequences such as when the truth of one of his false identities is discovered and they can't stay in what could have been a good home for them.

In an echo to the prank in which Tom and Co deliberately hide only to attend their own funeral, Huck plays a prank on Jim making him believe that he is dead. The incident traumatizes and upsets Jim so much that Huck vows never to play a joke like that again. Huck learns to empathize with another person's pain and sorrow, something that the mischievous Tom has trouble learning.

The way Twain writes other characters in the two books differs in the gulf between a child and a youth. Many of Tom Sawyer's characters are stereotypes: the salt of the earth townspeople, the loving parents, the strict schoolmaster and so on and so forth. Becky Thatcher, Tom's girlfriend, is less of an actual person than she is an ideal: the First Crush. She is the girl that Tom gets “engaged” to without really understanding what the word means (He gives her an old door knob and forgets that he was infatuated with another girl, Amy Lawrence, the year before.). Becky has youthful thoughts of romance and considers gestures such as Tom taking a whopping for her as the ultimate moments of chivalry. Like Tom, she too is caught up in her imagination of what love and romance really are based on books and an active imagination.

When the two are trapped in the cave, they spend the first few minutes giving the cave sections names like “Aladdin's Palace” suggesting that they found a world that they can shape according to the fantasies found in fairy tales and romantic legends.

It's also significant that even though Tom and Becky consider themselves “engaged” and are alone in a cave together, sexuality never enters their minds. They remain in their childhood innocence so such thoughts never occur to them.

While Huckleberry Finn, doesn't have a major female character that counters Becky, a close contrast would be Emmeline Grangerford. Emmeline was the daughter of a family that temporarily takes Huck in but are feuding with another family, the Shepherdsons. Huck never meets Emmeline in person, because she died at fifteen. However, Huck hears a lot about her and observes the painting and poetry she left behind.

Unlike Becky who is all sweetness and light with her yellow braids and thoughts of romance, Emmeline was preoccupied with death. Many of her poems were about the deaths of neighbors or people she read about in the obituary column. She painted morbid portraits of women in mourning that features titles such as “I shall never hear they sweet chirrup no more alas.”

Twain satirizes emotional artists like Emmeline by Huck naively complimenting her work saying that it was a shame that she did not live long enough to produce more (though Twain more than hints that he is glad she didn't.).

While Emmeline's talent is certainly debatable, she was clearly aware of a world that was not yet open to Becky. It was not a world of fairy tales and legends of chivalry, instead it was a world of darkness, violence, and despair. Like many teens when they understand the concept of death for the first time, Emmeline dramatized and emphasized it (making her the Mother of the Goth subculture).

The antagonists in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are also studies in contrast and reveal Twain's evolution in writing the two novels. Injun' Joe is a stereotype, nothing more nothing less. He is vilified by the townspeople simply for being half-Native American and half-white. There is no understanding in his character, no motivation, no deep characterization and in a book told primarily from a child's point of view it makes sense that there wouldn' be.

He is seen as a remorseless killer and a ruthless gang leader. He is distinctly bad from the word go because that's how Tom sees him. Tom sees the world as made up of good guys and bad guys and the bad guys are easy to recognize.

However, Injun’ Joe's criminal nature does not equal success. Many times, Tom is able to thwart him. In court, he names him as the true killer and though he is afraid that Joe will catch him, he never does. He doesn't spot Tom when Tom overhears them talking about burying their loot and he just misses Tom and Becky when the three of them are in the cave. Tom even becomes indirectly involved in Joe's destruction as when he and Becky are freed from the cave, the cave is enclosed leaving Injun' Joe inside to starve to death.

The Duke of Bilgewater and The Dauphin of France are two con artists in Huckleberry Finn that hearken back to the charming rogue or the gentlemen thief. But while Injun' Joe is a stereotype from a children's adventure, The Duke and The King are more nuanced villains. Unlike Joe who wears his villainy on his sleeve, the duo hide their deceitful avaricious intentions behind charming facades. They con various people including Huck and each other with tales that they are long lost royalty. Even though their colloquialisms and their bucolic demeanors reveal their true natures to the Reader, their inflated claims of being royalty and trained dramatic actors fool a gullible public. While the Duke and King have charming natures, they also rob and cheat the various people that they come into contact with, plan to sell Jim, and at one point threaten to kill Huck if he reveals their plan to bilk a wealthy family out of their Inheritance. What the more experienced Huckleberry Finn learns is that sometimes villains aren't always easily spotted like Joe, sometimes they can be hiding and acting as respected members of society.

It is significant that unlike Tom who is able to thwart Joe, Huck is not active in the Duke and King’s downfall. He warns a family that the duo are about to scam them out of an inheritance, but he is elsewhere when they are caught and arrested. He only sees them as they are being led out on a rail and tarred and feathered. As a kid, he is not always the instigator and sometimes events transpire without his actions or involvement.

Huck also becomes aware that the romantic image that he and Tom had of outlaws was false when he realizes that outlaws like the King and Duke are ruthless and murderous. During their disgrace, he also sees the consequences that such a life brings. The reality of experience challenges the romance of innocence.

Since Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are set in a pre-Civil War era both books are indicative of their times in referring to social issues particularly slavery or at least Huckleberry Finn is. In Tom Sawyer, slavery is only referred to a few times. Some of the residents of St. Petersburg talk about their slaves. Tom has many conversations with an African-American boy named Jim (probably not Huck's friend Jim since that Jim is a grown man and the Jim Tom knows is a young boy.). Many characters particularly Huck talk about cures and folklore they learned from various African-Americans in the community, but slavery is in the background just a part of daily life in St. Petersburg.

Slavery however is at the forefront of Huckleberry Finn and in Jim, Huck sees the struggle that is faced by the African-Americans that are around him. Jim is escaping to freedom and wants to be reunited with his wife and family. Huck, an abused boy, understands that need for freedom and helps him escape.

While Huck is beginning to understand society's laws that require that an escaped slave be returned to his owner, Huck is in conflict because of his growing affection for Jim. Huck writes a letter to Mrs. Watson, Jim's mistress, fearful that if he doesn't send it, he broke the law and committed a sin. He is afraid that he will go to prison then Hell.

However, Huck recognizes the bond that he shared with Jim is greater than those laws and says “So I’ll go to Hell” and tears up the letter. As a boy, Huck believes that he is once again doing wrong by breaking the law but Twain subtly encourages us to realize that Huck is taking a stand against an immoral institution. Huck's decision to rebel against the society's constructs towards slavery matures him into a developed character that is able to question and fight the world around him.

Ironically, as Huck becomes developed we are reminded of what a static character Tom is with his return to Huckleberry Finn. While, Tom and Huck stay at Tom's Aunt Sally's home and Jim is in hiding, Tom creates an elaborate plan based on his readings of adventure novels to help Jim escape to freedom. The plan is filled with Tom's imaginative and dramatic touches such as an anonymous note so they will be chased. However, once they are through with the escape, Tom reveals that Mrs. Watson had declared Jim a free man and this was a ruse so Tom could have one of his adventures.

Tom's return to Huckleberry Finn is jarring after so much growth in Huck's character. It shows that in the dark world that Huck experienced of slavery, death, deceit, and darkness there is no longer a place for childhood adventures. That while Huck has grown up, Tom has not and is still stuck in perpetual childhood.

The endings of both books diverge in where the characters move forward on their journies. In Tom Sawyer, Tom and Becky are rescued, Injun’Joe's treasure is found and is equally dispersed for Tom and Huck's education with an allowance, and Widow Douglas takes Huck in to civilize him. When Huck disappears to return to his old ways, Tom lures him back with promises of forming a gang, but he has to return to the Widow.

What Tom understands is that adventures are fun and that play is nice, but there is always a need for a home to return to once the adventure is done. Tom may irritate his family and friends, but he also knows that he is safe, protected, and loved as any child should be and he wants that for Huck as well.

While Tom Sawyer ends with Tom feeling the security of childhood, Huckleberry Finn ends with the uncertainty of adulthood. After Jim is freed, Tom's Aunt Sally offers to adopt Huck and civilize him. No thanks, Huck says. He has seen enough of that world and instead he “wants to light out for the Territory. (He’d) been civilized before.” He has seen the world of deception, darkness, and heartless institutions that are approved by society and he doesn't want to be a part of it.

Part of adulthood is finding your own path in life and Huck is heading towards that path. It won't be as cozy as the secure home that Tom retreats to at the end of his book, but it will be the next step towards his Independence and him becoming a fully mature and self-aware adult.

Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: The White Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. V) by Philippa Gregory; Bridge Between Plantagenet and Tudor is Filled With Political Strife, Unhappy Marriages, and Royal Impostors

Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: The White Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. V) by Philippa Gregory; Bridge Between Plantagenet and Tudor is Filled With Political Strife, Unhappy Marriages, and Royal Impostors




By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: You would think that the time between the War of the Roses and the rise of Henry VIII and his six wives would be a peaceful reprieve between serious conflicts.

Well, The White Princess is a 500-page way of Philippa Gregory saying “No such luck.” In this book, we are treated to a royal marriage rocked by infidelity, marital rape and abuse, constant threats against the king, and an impostor who may be one of the missing Princes in the Tower.

The marriage between Elizabeth of York and Henry VII was supposed to be an end to the conflict of the War of the Roses and bring the feuding York and Lancaster Houses together. Gregory's writing shows that peace can sometimes be as much of a Hell as war.

To start with both Elizabeth and Henry have plenty of baggage they bring into the marriage. Historical documents say that Elizabeth and Henry's marriage while political, was fairly happy and contented. Gregory however takes a different tactic that is less historical and more fiction and drama. It's not accurate, but makes for interesting reading and plays on the threads that have already been woven from the narratives in the previous books in the series.


Elizabeth of York still grieves for her deceased uncle, Richard and very bizarrely is still in love with him. It's a bit discomforting to modern Readers for obvious reasons for Elizabeth to recall making love to her uncle. Not to mention in The Kingmaker's Daughter, Richard tells his wife, Anne that he only romanced Elizabeth and allowed rumors to spread so she would be considered spoiled goods for Henry. It is uncertain whether Richard in the previous book was telling the truth or lying to placate Anne's suspicions. Certainly, Elizabeth took it extremely seriously and loved him far more than he loved her.

It would be nice if we had gotten Richard's perspective so we could get some finality in this bizarre love triangle to learn what he actually felt about Elizabeth and whether they were as passionate as Elizabeth believed or as chaste yet manipulative as Anne believed. Failing that, I will stick with the motive in Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendor where he never made love to Elizabeth, that the romance was all in the head of an infatuated young girl, and he took a mentor interest in her as a replacement for the brother that died and the nephews that disappeared.

Either way, Elizabeth enters her story as a starry eyed romantic with dreams of creating the perfect kingdom of Camelot. It is shattered as her idealistic dreams get crushed and she succumbs to an unhappy marriage and the political intrigue around her.

Henry also comes into the marriage equipped with extra baggage and this baggage makes him extraordinarily unlikable. In Henry, we see the results of Margaret Beaufort's single minded ambition to make her son King. We see a young man filled with ambition and paranoid suspicion of enemies who only trusts the people who made him king: his mother and paternal uncle, Jasper Tudor.

He spends a great deal of time consulting solely with his mother making her complicit in his various schemes such as raping Elizabeth before their wedding and arresting anyone who is affiliated with the Plantagenet family.

Henry repeatedly tests Elizabeth's loyalty by warning her not to contact relatives or friends who are about to be imprisoned, including her mother. The result is an emotionally abused Queen of England who has to remain silent for the sake of her family and eventually her children: Arthur, Henry, Margaret, Mary, and Edmund.

One thing that Elizabeth has going for her is that she has a lot of heart which she shows Henry when they are with their people. Since the previous volumes in the series involved the previous queens at war and Anne Neville had such a short time on the throne, we never got to experience any of the previous queens interact with their people apart from their military and staunchest supporters.

Oh in the White Queen, we see a few moments of Edward and Elizabeth's court being described as a merry court filled with music, intellect, and loyal courtiers but in the White Princess we experience more of that.

Elizabeth of York shows that she inherited her father's likeable kind nature in her interactions with her people. She greets subjects like old friends and assists the people with their problems. Now that the Cousin's War is finally out of the way it is nice to see a queen acting well...queenly.

As many characters describe her, Elizabeth inherited the York ability to make people love her, something that Henry lacks which he understands but is unable to feel. Elizabeth reveals this in a great confrontation with Margaret that she raised Henry to be a king not to be a good man and because of that, the people will only fear and maybe respect Henry, but never love him.

That distrustful nature plus the war-like nature in which Henry seized the throne are key factors as to why many of the people are so disgusted with the Tudor claim to the throne that they search for any Plantagenet survivors to take it. First, many supporters conspire with Teddy, the son of George Duke of Clarence and Elizabeth's cousin.

However, there are hints that Teddy is developmentally disabled and his involvement in conspiracies is brought forward resulting in him being sent to the Tower of London as well as the subsequent arrests of various members of Elizabeth's inner circle.

There are other claimants most prominently a young man named Perkin Warbeck. He claims to be Richard, the younger of the two Princes sentenced to the Tower. He is shuttled from Europe to Africa at first in hiding but then is chased off by a paranoid Henry.

In various countries, he convinces several rulers that he might be royalty. Even when he finally arrives in England “the boy,” as he is referred to by Henry, Elizabeth and their entourage, shows a great deal of courage, sophistication, scholarly learning, and a charismatic presence that would be possessed not only by any prince but particularly by the son of King Edward IV.

When Warbeck arrives in England, Henry is threatened by this man's personality and demeanor as the people see him as a better potential king. Elizabeth even notes that Henry may see the ruler that he might have been if he hadn't spent so much time in fear and exile, deprived of feeling any emotion. This challenge irates Henry so much that he manufactures Warbeck's escape so he can later lock him in the Tower of London.

Elizabeth unfortunately gets no moments alone with Warbeck so we do not get the potential brother-sister reunion, but he is still very present in Elizabeth's thoughts.
Warbeck’s beautiful wife cozies up to the king so she could win her husband's freedom. Henry is receptive and Elizabeth, who once openly dallied with the married former King Richard, now understands what it's like to be the other woman in that situation, the wife cast aside for a younger prettier model.

Elizabeth is also concerned towards Warbeck's cruel treatment from her bullying abusive husband and is anxious about the future of her family. She remembers the curse that she and her mother bestowed that the killer of her brothers would have a son and grandson that would die before they reached the throne, that there would be no healthy male heir, and that the line would end with a barren girl.

If Perkin Warbeck is in fact her brother, then his killer by definition is Henry Tudor (just as Prince Edward's killer was more than likely Margaret Beaufort, Henry's mother.). So the curse may in fact be enacted, not with the boy's disappearances from the Tower but by Warbeck's execution by Henry.

The queen is torn between her sympathies for the man who might be her brother and her own position and the future of her family, particularly her children. Does she speak out and appeal for Teddy and Warbeck's releases or does she remain silent and let no harm come to her children's lineage? She has to decide, is she a York or a queen?

The White Princess brings a finality to the Plantagenet family with The King's Curse feeling like a final death rattle. It brilliantly foreshadows the eventual horror that comes within the Tudor family through Henry VIII's multiple marriages, the ill health of King Edward VI, and the intense rivalry between Queens Mary and Elizabeth I. It's a fine bridge between the conflicts that had passed and reveals the conflicts to come.

New Book Alert: Zodiac States by William Stalker; Brilliant Satire Pokes Fun at Politics, Socioeconomic Interdependence, and the Zodiac

New Book Alert: Zodiac States by William Stalker; Brilliant Satire Pokes Fun at Politics, Socioeconomic Interdependence, and the Zodiac

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Before I begin this review, I wish to express my condolences to the victims of the shootings in Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton. No matter the affiliation, violence is never an answer. Neither is hatred, racism, and prejudice. May we find a way to see beyond hatred and look upon each other with respect, love, understanding, equality, and acceptance.

Spoilers: People who follow astrology and the signs of the Zodiac often study the characters of the various signs and the people born under them. Many can't help but notice that people born under certain signs share many personality traits and interests. They often attract certain kinds of people, work in certain jobs, and act in certain ways towards their parents and children. There are many books and memorabilia made about this concept.

Of course not everyone fits neatly in a category and there are always exceptions. So matching a Zodiac sign to a personality is not always accurate, but it is a fun past time as long as it Isn't taken too seriously.

The theme of matching something as complex as the human personality with something as arbitrary as a sign of the Zodiac is found in William Stalker's clever satire Zodiac States. Zodiac States satirizes several things like personality tests, human classification, segregation, gun use, corporate greed, feminism, toxic masculinity, religion, and just about everything else in between. No concept is safe from Stalker's biting wit.

Zodiac States begins the way many satires in the past such as Gulliver's Travels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or Brave New World, begins with an outsider looking inside a bizarre world. College student, Jack Rivers and his friend, Budd “Fort” Knox, a former Navy Seal, are on a mission to find Jack's girlfriend, Sylvia Darling and Sylvia's mother, Jean. Along the way, they meet Reverend Adam Gaines who is concerned that his parishioner, Jean, has fallen in a bad way.

The trio find themselves at the foot of the strange Universe Island where the Darlings were last seen. The Universe Island is separated into twelve states, the Zodiac States. Travelers can move from state to state along the Zodiac Road, but only people who were born under that specific astrological sign can live in their corresponding state and yes visitors have to bring records to show when they were born.

Like Jonathan Swift did with his Lilliputians, Brobingdangians, Laputans, Yahoos, and Houyinems, the Zodiac States stand in for different microcosms of modern society and are set up to satirize specific aspects. The Zodiac States are as follows (in order of their appearance in the book):

Leo-The bankers of the Zodiac States. All of its residents are wealthy money managers, and are in charge of the financial welfare of the other states. Many of the residents are arrogant Yuppies who try to outdo one another in cutthroat schemes to obtain more wealth. Their currency, solars, are used throughout the states and stored in Leo's banking system.

Cancer-The armory of the Zodiac States. It's like the Wild West because all of the resident sell, buy, and carry guns. Many of the residents are bad tempered and prone to violence. A gunfight is nearly always guaranteed to break out. The Cancerians also provide arms and weapons for the other states.

Virgo-The health care center of the Zodiac States. It is a matriarchal society in which women are the main leaders and decision makers. It has the best equipped hospital and the latest medical research, staffed and maintained entirely by women. Men born in Virgo have three choices: leave Virgo, remain in the Stadium where they can practice sports and play video games to their heart's content (a giant man cave), or remain with the women but be castrated.

Libra-The Intellectuals of the Zodiac States. The Librans live in a quasi-socialist city-state which is ruled by 15 representatives called Philosopher Kings. Money is dispersed evenly and education and health care are free. Libra trades alcoholic beverages (which are grown there in wineries and breweries) to the other states for services.

Scorpio-The astronomers of the States and among the strangest of the twelve. The Scorpions believe that they are descendants of aliens that arrived from a spaceship that crashed. The architecture is designed in a futuristic style. The residents study the stars awaiting the day when their alien forebears will return to take them to their home planet.

Sagittarius- The soldiers and celebrities of the Zodiac States. This one is a feudalistic style society. The Sagittarians are arranged by Nobles-Kings, queens, Lords, and ladies, townspeople-merchants and tradespeople, and serfs. Because of the rigorous training and chivalric nature, many of the Zodiac State's best soldiers are from there and are used in the other states for battles. Also, the elite nobles of Sagittarius set the trends in fame, fashion, and style for the others.

Capricorn-These residents live as hunters and gatherers. The Capricorns live in Native American-style tribes and remain close to nature, living close to the animals and plants. They also give unprocessed ore like gold and silver to the other states in exchange for solars.

Gemini -The communicators of the States. Everything runs in twos in this state and twins have special privileges. The residents are made up of two distinct societies, the Pubs and Crates who can’t agree on anything, so both sides rely on a supercomputer to feed them information. The supercomputer offers ludicrous suggestions like “kill all lawyers.” The Gemini provide information to the other states.

Aquarius- This chapter is my favorite because Aquarius is my birth sign. The Aquarians are psychedelic hippies perpetually stuck in the ‘60’s. (What did you expect for the “Age of Aquarius”?) The residents exchange drugs, listen to rock music, and live independent artistic lives. They trade drugs and crafts to other states for goods and services.

Aries-The businesspeople of the States. Aries is run like a corporation and is ruled by a CEO. Everybody in Aries drills, pumps, and sells oil to the other states. The residents live in houses, learn in schools, and worship in cathedrals owned by the CEO.

Pisces-The most spiritual of the States. It is like a New Age religious commune. The Pisceans meditate to the universe and believe that they have psychic abilities that are bestowed upon them by their ancestors. While they are spiritually centered, they are ineffective in battle (relying on stronger states for defense). However, the Pisces’ land contains many rich minerals and resources, such as oil, they offer to the other states.

Taurus-The warriors of the States. The Taureans are trained fighters and avid athletes. They are raised with the strictest discipline and fight against adversaries. They are often called to defend other states in times of great trouble.

The Zodiac States’ residents believe that theirs is the most important state and are either active rivals with or insult the members of other states with jokes and stereotypes. (“If you ask a Sagittarius what's new, they won't tell you,” jokes a Capricorn.) They are unaware that they live in an interdependent society in which each state needs the goods and services that the others provide. Tensions outside and within some of the states (such as Gemini’s fighting factions and the Leo families vying against each other) are boiling at the surface just waiting to explode and explode they do.


The characterization is not particularly strong in Zodiac States. The visitors are mostly tourists to act either appalled or seduced by how the different states operate. Some even find love interests that dwell in the Zodiac States.

There's a sinister character called Killer Joe who creates dissension in Cancer which is then spread to the other states putting them at war for……reasons. Though tension is so high among the twelve states, they don't need an outside instigator to entice them to do what they would eventually do on their own.

Of course the residents of the Zodiac States are all stereotypes, but that's who they are supposed to be. They live and exist within their own sign only acting as the people born under that sign are supposed to act with those assigned personality traits.

It's interesting that I am reading this book the same time that I am reading Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard, in which four women harness the power of the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. They also behave according to the traits that are associated with that element. In both Unbalanced and Zodiac States, the characters are weakened by their acceptance of only that sign or that element. It is only when they work together and realize that they are connected to each other, that they become stronger.

In Zodiac States that moment follows much violence, destruction, and infighting. The residents of the States finally recognize that connection and interdependence and accept each other as beings that contain more than just traits associated with the sign of their birth.

Zodiac States is a winning commentary about modern society and how many countries and people look down on and yet depend on each other for survival. It also shows that prejudices are found when people set themselves higher to the point that they look upon others as subhuman.

Once they remove the humanity from a rival or an enemy, it becomes easier to fight them. This book is a must-read comparison to our modern society when racism and violence are so prominent and how violence is often created when certain types of groups are thought of as stereotypical enemies.
When the humanity is removed, it becomes easier to do horrible things. When we start accepting and understanding others and realize how connected we truly are, then real healing and change can begin.

New Book Alert: Sons of Kings: Shadow of the Raven by Millie Thom; Engaging Violent Read About Slavery in 9th Century England

New Book Alert: Sons of Kings: Shadow of the Raven by Millie Thom; Engaging Violent Read About Slavery in 9th Century England

By Julie Sara Porter




Spoilers: Apparently, historical fiction novels about slavery is this year's epic fantasy because this is the second book about slavery that I read in a week. Like Shiri, this is about a young person whose home is targeted by an enemy army. Their family is either wiped out or missing leaving them the sole survivor and the protagonist is forced to become a slave in the presence of their enemies. The main differences between this and Shiri are the settings and particularly the protagonists. Shiri was about a girl in Ancient Egypt while Shadow of a Raven is about a boy in 9th century England. Because of this, the Shadow of a Raven goes places that Shiri does not by taking its protagonist down a more active violent vengeance seeking path that Shiri’s gender and status deprive her of.



Eadwulf is a prince in 851 Mercia and is the son of King Beorthwulf and Queen Morwenna. His life consists of hanging out with his more active best friend, Aethelnoth, sleeping during the study sessions headed by his tutor, Sigehelm, hunting for animals, and watching as his father and other men fight with the often raiding Danes. He is in training to be king himself one day, that is until the Danes make a surprise raid on the Mercian kingdom orchestrated by Beorthwulf's brother, Burgred (thereby taking his place as “Worst Uncle Ever” since Scar from the Lion King). Beorthwulf is killed and Eadwulf is separated from his mother, friends, and kingdom to become a thral or slave with Sigehelm to Jarl Ragnar Lothbrok, a Danish chieftain. In slavery, Eadwulf has two goals in mind and two bodies on his soon to be hit list: killing Burgred, for his betrayal of his family and Rorik, the Danish chieftain who commanded the raid and took Morwenna to serve as his concubine.

Meanwhile, in the nearby Wessex kingdom tensions arise when the elderly dying King Aethelwulf takes a much younger wife, Judith which doesn't sit too well with his oldest son, Aethelstan. Aethelstan and his brothers squabble over their inheritance and shares of the kingdom. Oh yes, and Aethelwulf’s youngest son, Alfred is predicted to become a great king surpassing his brothers. (History will prove this prediction right since Alfred grows to become King Alfred The Great.)

Shadow of the Raven is an exciting dramatic novel with a few setbacks. The subplot involving Alfred's family so far seems unnecessary since there appears to be little to no interaction with the Eadwulf plot. Their worlds will probably connect at a future date in a later installment, but for now the two plots could have easily been two separate novels instead of crammed into one.


However, the Eadwulf story is strong and easily the most involving plot in the book. It's not hard to compare this book to Shiri since they both feature characters forced into slavery. Neither book is inherently better than the other. They just differ in terms of choices that characters make and how they approach their lives of bondage.

Shiri is a more stoic character who endures her servitude with patience and inner strength. She is limited by being a peasant woman from an outside village who has very little chance of gaining meaningful allies. She lives out in the desert where escape is impossible even fatal. She is also threatened with the death or disgrace of her lover, Joseph and daughter, Tiye. So she can only submit to her treatment, but also show love towards Joseph and Tiye who are respectively married to and raised by a wealthy Egyptian woman who is Shiri’s mistress. For Shiri, she must endure patiently and wait for better days.

Eadwulf however is a more action fueled character. While serving in Ragnar's household, he is made enemies with Ragnar's abusive wife and bullying sons. Eadwulf’s abuse at their hands escalates to the point where the sons hunt him down for sport. However, Eadwulf finds a supporter in Ragnar's oldest son, Bjorn who then takes the young man to serve on his ship.


Here is where Eadwulf is able to take action in the face of his slavery as compared to Shiri. Eadwulf learns about seamanship, fighting, and forsakes his family's Christian religion for the more proactive Norse gods. As a sailor and fighter on the ship, he is forced to reconcile his Mercian upbringing with his current actions as the Danish crew frequently rape and pillage the places they land on. Besides working out his aggression in these raids, he earns Bjorn's loyalty and protection. This is especially cemented when Eadwulf saves Bjorn's life from an approaching arrow earning him the new name, Ulf.


Besides becoming a fierce and at times ruthless fighter, Eadwulf shows tremendous heart especially considering the people in his past. While he once thought of Sigehelm as a boring dull dud and the butt of his pranks, Eadwulf begins to recognize his tutor's quiet strength and self-sacrifice towards him. He also has some moving heartfelt reunions with long separated friends and family members. He bonds with Bjorn's youngest brother and becomes close to his younger siblings particularly taking an almost fatherly interest in his younger brother, Jorund. He also has a romantic relationship with Freydis, Ragnar's daughter and Bjorn's sister.

Unfortunately, it is his relationship with Freydis that reminds Eadwulf that he may be liked by Bjorn and Bjorn may be a loving kind master, but Eadwulf is still a slave. He learns that as a thral, he is still property and therefore still subjected to their rules and those who were once his strongest allies could very quickly turn on him.


Shadow of a Raven is an engaging but dark and graphically violent book in which characters are brutally stabbed, raped, molested, decapitated, whipped, and the protagonist goes from a wide-eyed idealistic naive prince to a hardened warrior with several bloody kills, rapes, and village destruction to his credit. However, it is a very realistic and exciting look at life in 9th century England and demonstrated the lengths that some will go to fight for revenge and for their freedom.

New Book Alert: Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard; Fantastic Fantasy About Sisterhood and Elemental Magic

New Book Alert: Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard; Fantastic Fantasy About Sisterhood and Elemental Magic

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: We are all familiar with the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. They are used in both science and magic. Many characters in fiction such as the X Men's Storm or the characters in the animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender and it's spinoff, The Legend of Korra, have the ability to harness them for power. Some Pagans use them as conduits for spells and believe the elements represent certain goals or traits that a person has. When the four elements are balanced, they create harmony in the earth, but if one gets too powerful dangerous things are bound to happen.

Courtney Shepard's fantasy novel, Unbalanced is about that premise. It begins in the Middle Ages (don't all fantasies) in Spain en media torture as a sinister character called The Master interrogates a village about the location of four young girls. These aren't just any young girls as we learn when they confront the Master. Each one controls the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. After the girls defeat him, they disappear and the Master vows that if he doesn't find them, then his descendants will.

Fast forward to 1988 and a woman named Emma is giving birth to quadruplet daughters when five mysterious hooded figures appear at her bedside. As soon as the babies pop out, four of the figures take the babies away to be raised elsewhere while the fifth insists they will be cared for.

Now in modern day, the four babies are all grown and are well aware of their tremendous power, but unaware that they have sisters who also have similar powers. Asha is a freedom fighter in Central America who has the power of fire. Ivy is a veterinarian in Vancouver who controls earth including plants and rocks. Mere is a surfer catching and controlling the waves in Australia. Meanwhile, Avia is a flutist currently touring Hong Kong and has the power of air.

Besides their abilities, the women also had guardians whom they called “Father” whoever (like priests) that were either killed or disappeared. They also are being stalked by dangerous people and have the feeling that they are not alone and that they are sharing each other's pain.

Unbalanced is a fun exciting modern fantasy filled with suspenseful and magical moments. The four sisters are great protagonists, especially after they meet and show off their awesome abilities.
The four women embody their element in their personalities. Asha is firey and passionate and often blazes with a bad temper. Ivy is the practical, stable more grounded leader of the quartet. Mere is the most emotional, intuitive, and sensitive sister. Avia is the more rational, intelligent, sometimes seemingly emotionless one. The four sisters are memorable characters whether alone or together.


They are united when the Master’s current descendants find and chase after them. The sisters encounter four brothers who work for the latest Master (called the Grand Master because there are two younger Masters), Clay, Cole, Rio, and Aron who also control respectively Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. The brothers and sisters unite when the Grand Master's real motives are revealed as well as the close connections that the sisters have to one of the younger Masters and the family that has spent centuries stalking them.


While the four sisters are brilliantly written, their new equally powerful potential love interests are not near as identifiable. They are mostly interchangeable in their encounters with the sisters and each other. The only one that stands out is Clay, a sensitive doctor who in the first few chapters guards a captive and naturally irate Asha. Clay is drawn to Asha's beauty and spirit and helps her escape. Cole, Rio, and Aron have some nice romantic moments with Ivy, Avia, and Mere especially when the guys and gals are sent two by two on missions and they get to mutually save each other and defend themselves from enemies.

However, the men don't have as many identifiable idiosyncrasies that make them stand out like Mere's Guns N’Roses T-shirt, Asha's marksman skills, Ivy’s garden, or Avia's swank Zurich villa that tell us more about them. The sisters are unique not only in their abilities but in those traits and interests that make them individuals.

Of course with the brothers that might be the point. The sisters were raised separately to be individualistic while the men were raised together in an almost military-like fashion that eschewed independent thought and action. The men were raised to be a unit using and suppressing their powers, but the women were not. Ironically, that's what makes the four sisters stronger more identifiable characters.

At first, each woman acts like someone that exists within her own element and that's how they live and operate. Their reliance on only their element causes trouble. In the opening chapters, Asha burns down a whole village and has memories of several people she caught on fire because of her temper. Besides controlling the air around her, Avia has the creepy ability of removing the oxygen from someone's lungs. Both Mere and Ivy have accidentally caused floods and earthquakes.

The four sisters are powerful, but when they live only within their element, only that element reigns and it is overpowering. The Grand Master and his minions want the sisters killed or separated because he fears not their separate power, but how much stronger they are together.

Together, Ivy, Avia, Mere, and Asha balance each other out and are able to channel their abilities in tandem.
That is also probably why Shepard chose not to pair the same element characters with each other instead Asha with Clay and Ivy with Cole (Fire and Earth), and Avia with Rio and Mere with Aron (Air and Water). Too much of the same element can be destructive but two different elements recognizes each other's strengths and limitations.

What the Grand Master and his ilk fear is the balance and strength the sisters bring. Separately, they are weakened by the excess of their elements, but together they are a team that balances each other and their environment.

Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: The Kingmaker's Daughter (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. IV) by Philippa Gregory; In Depth Look at King Richard III and his wife, Anne Neville

Weekly Reader Philippa Gregory Edition: The Kingmaker's Daughter (The Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series Vol. IV) by Philippa Gregory; In Depth Look at King Richard III and his wife, Anne Neville




By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Spoilers: King Richard III has gotten a raw deal by history and William Shakespeare. For centuries, he had been labelled as a tyrant king and called “The World's Wickedest Uncle” for his supposed role in the disappearance of his nephews. Shakespeare wrote him as among the worst villains in his veritable Rogue's Gallery and considering his Gallery also features such notable sinister characters as King Claudius, Iago, Julius Caesar's assassins, Goneril and Regan, and The Macbeths, that's saying quite a lot

Lately authors and historians have sought to vindicate Richard's name. There is a King Richard Society which studies his true character. Many historical fiction such as Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendor and nonfiction have told events from his point of view. Richard III's skeleton was even discovered underneath a carport and identified by DNA testing thereby giving him a proper burial.

In her Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series book, The Kingmaker's Daughter, Philippa Gregory continues that trend of making Richard a more nuanced even romantic figure by showing him from the point of view of his wife, Anne Neville.

Gregory only used a male perspective twice in the entire series. The Virgin’s Lover is largely told from the point of view of Queen Elizabeth's lover, Sir Robert Dudley and in The Other Queen, George Talbot, the Earl of Shrwsbury is only one of three pov characters that include his wife, Bess and Mary Queen of Scots.

It is unclear why Gregory did not choose Richard himself to be the narrator of this volume. Perhaps she wanted to keep the female narrative going during the Cousin's War. Perhaps she didn't feel comfortable using Richard's voice. Perhaps Richard had been done before most spectacularly in Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendor.

Either way, Anne Neville is an equally compelling character because she gives us different perspectives than we have seen thus far in the series of such people as her husband, Richard, her father, Richard Earl of Warwick “The Kingmaker”, and Elizabeth Woodville. We also learn what it's like to be a young child being used as a pawn manipulated and used by others for their gain until they have had enough and take power for themselves.

One of the first things that sets Anne's narrative apart from the previous narrators in the series is her youth. While Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Margaret Beaufort were in their early teens when their stories began, they were considered mature women by Medieval society, both preparing for arranged marriages or future goals. (Margaret's devotion to religion made her particularly mature for her age.)

Anne's novel begins when she is about 9 years old and she acts every bit like the child she is.
Anne complains about always being last, having to enter behind the rest of her family. She fights and plays dress up with her older sister, Isabel. She admires Queen Elizabeth Woodville from afar thinking she is the most beautiful woman she has ever seen and King Edward as the bravest most handsome man that she has ever seen despite him being on the outs with her father. She and Isabel tease Edward's younger brothers, George and Richard because they all used to study together.

The comparison of Anne's youth with the previous narrators is like those Dear America books which are narrated by girls from different time periods. You read volumes that are about girls caught up in the middle of a war or settling into an arranged marriage. Then you read the next one and another girl talks about a crush on a boy at school or troubles with her math homework and you remember “Oh yeah, they're just kids!”

The beginning of The Kingmaker's Daughter reminds you that many of these characters were children or teenagers when the Cousin's War began and were involved in situations in which they had absolutely no control.

Having no control over her circumstances is an ongoing theme in Anne's life especially when her father is the scheming Richard Earl of Warwick The Kingmaker. Once Warwick falls out of favor in Edward's court because of his rivalry with Elizabeth's family, The Rivers, Warwick is forever scheming to make another king. He uses his daughters as bargaining chips bouncing them around from one marriage to another. Both Isabel and Anne are too young and too naive to reject their father and go along with his ideas even when Anne's conscience tells her that Edward and Elizabeth are right and her father is wrong.

First, Warwick marries Isabel and George in a failed attempt to make George, Duke of Clarence, king. In a display of how little he regards his daughters, Warwick forces a heavily pregnant Isabel to sail to Calais during a severe storm causing her to lose the baby. This incident causes Isabel to look at her father less favorably and begin to take charge of her life. For Anne, it takes longer.

When George turns his coat and reunites with his brother, Warwick tries a new tactic with his younger daughter. He weds Anne to Edward, the Lancaster heir and son of the York's sworn enemies King Henry VI and Margaret d'Anjou. Anne suddenly finds herself surrounded by people she once feared including the somewhat unstable Edward and Margaret, whom Anne had nightmares of her as the “she wolf.” However, Anne's time with Margaret d'Anjou and even Elizabeth Woodville is not ill-spent.

Through an unlikely pair of role models, Anne begins the seeds of taking control of her own life. Through Elizabeth Woodville, she learns about glamor and hiding a duplicitous nature. Though Anne grows to resent and despise Elizabeth, she learns to conceal much of herself and that she has to connive to get her way instead of being the trusting schoolgirl going along with others.

Margaret d'Anjou teaches her about strength and to fight for those she loves. Though the French queen is fierce and frightening, Anne admires her Independence and unwillingness to compromise. It is Anne's admiration for these two unlikely women that allows her to come out from her family's shadow after her father and husband's death and her abandonment from her mother. Instead, she is able to take charge of her own life and marries the man that she has grown to love, Richard Duke of Gloucester.

Like Anne, Richard is also multifaceted in Gregory's novel. He is fiercely loyal to his oldest brother to the point that Warwick never tries to recruit him to take the throne because he knows that he would never betray his brother. Though he doesn't care for Elizabeth Woodville or her family himself, Richard keeps much of his dislike for them buried until after Edward's death for the semblance of maintaining peace between the various factions.
He is a strategic and consummate fighter as he battles many and kills several important characters like Edward Lancaster.
Richard is even a romantic figure particularly in his chapters with Anne. He is protective of the circumstances that Anne is in after Edward Lancaster's death and she is in the care of the suddenly abusive Isabel and George. He cleverly helps engineer her escape and proposes marriage to her.

For those who hold to Richard's more devious reputation, Gregory hasn’t lost sight of that either. Anne's snobbish mother points out that since Richard did not wait for a papal dispension to marry Anne, he could legally put her away any time he wants. Also when Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Woodville's daughter serves as Anne's lady in waiting he pays a little too close attention to her sending tongues wagging. So in this version, he is not a diabolical villain or a saint. But a very realistic human character, one who can inspire love or loathing in those around him.

A common theme in the Plantagenet and Tudor Court Series is the idea of the Wheel of Fortune, a card in the Tarot that symbolizes that we either rise very high or fall very low. This theme is particularly prominent in The Kingmaker's Daughter as we see various characters ascend and descend at nothing more than the turn of the wheel. Of course we see the Lancasters fall in favor of the York's only to rise and fall again with the Yorks rising and falling as well. (One of the more moving passages calls back to Lady of the Rivers and shows old friends, Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Margaret d'Anjou trace a wheel's circle with their fingers as Margaret is being led to prison for the final time.)

We also see other characters rise and fall as well. George and Isabel are held in high esteem by Warwick then fall out of favor for Anne's marriage to Edward of Lancaster. Isabel accuses her sister of being a traitor failing to notice that Anne just like Isabel is caught up in the schemes and destinies of others. When Anne falls back down as Edward's widow, Isabel takes the opportunity to cruelly lord over and control her inheritance. The two don't reconcile until after Anne's marriage to Richard and Isabel has had two children before her death, possibly from poison. George, once loved by his brothers and his mother's favorite,is also executed after scheming against Edward and Elizabeth and made to drown in a case of malmsy wine.

Even after Richard and Anne become king and queen, they are constantly in fear of when they will fall. They have one child, Ned, but the boy's early death turns their reign into one of grief.
There are also plenty of supporters of the Yorks and when Richard declared Edward’s children illegitimate because of his early marriage, there is fear that Elizabeth’s supporters will topple them. Anne is in fear to the point of paranoia that Elizabeth is scheming against them either by poisoning or by magic curses.
When Edward and Elizabeth's sons are sent to the Tower of London for safekeeping, Anne says a few words which weigh on her conscience when the boys are reported missing.

That's not to mention Henry Tudor, the bright young upstart who has his sights set on the throne and is slowly gaining supporters or the previously mentioned Elizabeth of York who is becoming a vibrant beautiful contrast to the often sickly and depressed, Anne. Anne eventually accepts that the Wheel of Fortune falls on everyone even herself and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

The Kingmaker's Daughter shows the growth in Anne Neville from a naïve girl, to a controlled woman, to a nervous queen fighting against and ultimately resigned to her fate.

Classics Corner: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Still Relevant Classic of Scandal, Hypocrisy, Secret Sin, and Redemption

Classics Corner: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Still Relevant Classic of Scandal, Hypocrisy, Secret Sin, and Redemption




By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: Nathaniel Hawthorne was familiar with the concept of secret sin. He was a descendant of one of the judges of the Salem Witch Trials and even added the “w” to the last name Hathorne to disassociate himself from his ancestors. His mother's ancestors had an accusation of incest and were temporarily forced to wear an “I” on their clothing.


Even Hawthorne's writings are all about guilt and secret sins that are inside people. His short story “Young Goodman Brown,” features a young man who sees a witch's sabbat conducted by members of the community including his wife. While the story never tells us if the sabbat was real or a dream, it changes Brown's perception of the people around him and he suspects everyone in town of being in league with the Devil.

Another story “The Minister's Black Veil” also captures those themes. In that one, a minister covers his face in a black veil. The villagers are unnerved by the veil and can't convince him to remove it. The minister never reveals the reason that he wears the veil except on his deathbed, he says that he sees a veil on everyone's face. The story suggests that the veil is a symbol for the darkness and secrets that are inside everyone. The minister just chooses to bring his out in the open.


Hawthorne's best work, The Scarlet Letter covers those concepts of hidden darkness and secret sin and how they can either redeem a person or trap them into their own personal Hell.

In 17th century Boston, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a red “A” on her bosom and stand in the pillory for an hour every day. The reason for this is that even though she is married and she arrived in New England ahead of her husband, she had a child with another man. (The A more than likely stands for Adultery.)

Hester and her daughter, Pearl have to face a cold judgmental Puritan community and two men in particular. The first is Roger Chillingsworth who is every bit as warm hearted as his name. He is a physician recently arrived in town and is, surprise, Hester's husband.

The other man is the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, a young minister who wants Hester to open up to her sin and admit who is the father of her child. Though he shouldn't have to ask because, double surprise, he's Pearl's father.

Hawthorne's interest in guilt and secret sin manifests itself into his characters in interesting ways. While Hester is vilified by the community, she is able to reinvent herself. First, her A isn't just stitched onto her dress. It is embroidered and embellished, showing great care in her work. To support herself and her daughter, Hester takes up sewing and embroidery. While Puritans are legendarily plain dressed people, they were only human and didn't mind a little character once in awhile. Hester makes gloves for governors, dressing gowns for babies, and other accessories.

While no one in Boston would dare cross her path, invite her for tea, or even eject a particularly warm friendly hello to the woman, eventually they don't mind bragging to their friends that they own a Hester Prynne Original accessory.

Hester’s career shows her as an artist and an outsider. She can't openly rebel against her circumstances, so she puts all of her pain and care into her work. Note, she doesn't just wear the A. She embellishes it. She dramatizes it. As though she is revealing her creativity and originality under the conservative law abiding shell.

The other thing that Hester does during her long sentence is good work. While most people, myself included, would probably say “the hell with those people” and ignore them, Hester does not do this. Instead she gives medicine to the sick and counsels people who are lost and distressed. As an outsider, she has compassion for others and understanding for their plight. Ironically, she is stronger because of the isolation that she had to endure therefore has more empathy for those who are poor, sick, and alone.

In contrast to Hester, Dimmesdale’s turmoil is all internal. He has to act like a convincing minister and community leader on the outside, while he is tormented on the inside with his guilt of having been with Hester. Dimmesdale flagellates himself and feels shame burning inside his heart. He tells no one except Hester leaving his guilt to churn inside him.

As Heater grows stronger in her suffering, Dimmesdale grows weaker because of the hypocrisy he forces on himself. Ironically, it is only right before he reveals himself enough to stand in the pillory with Hester and Pearl that he gives the best sermon of his career as if in admitting his own guilt and double standard, he frees himself. Like Heater with her art, he has finally put himself forward with his art of public speaking to show his true self.

Dimmesdale's secret sin makes him prey for Chillingsworth who plays on his guilt and suffering thereby physically and mentally weakening him. Dimmesdale may long to seek repentance, but Chillingsworth does not because in his eyes, he did nothing wrong except marry a woman younger than him.

He is the Salem judge, the self-proclaimed man of God, the hypocritical politician, the Holier than Thou town's leader who judges the people under him while preying on their weaknesses. He is the man who cries loudest for punishment without admitting his own misdeeds and involvements which are often similar or worse than the ones that are public. Unfortunately, as is so often true he receives little to no retribution for his cruelty towards Hester and Dimmesdale.

The fourth character is the most unique of all: Pearl, the daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale. She is often described as a fairy or elf child as though she were a being outside of this world. Because her mother raised her as an outsider, she is free to express herself in ways the other characters do not. Her mother dresses her in the beautiful clothes that she makes instead of somber Puritanical clothing. She is bold and upfront where most Puritan children her age would be obedient and quiet. She asks questions such as “Why does (Dimmesdale) put his hand over his heart like he's in pain?” Because she lives outside of societal laws, Pearl is not beholden to them. She is able to argue and fight expressing the anger that her mother suppresses and articulating the sadness that her father hides.


Among the most intriguing developments about The Scarlet Letter is is how relevant this story still is. True, we are not likely to hang people for witchcraft or make people wear letters decrying their latest sin. But sex scandals are still the order of the day and now as then women are often held to a different standards than men. You only need to look as far as the headlines to see this.

In the recent sexual harassment accusations in the wake of Me Too/Time's Up look at how many men are accused of harassment. Okay look how many men who are tried, convicted, and found guilty. So far one: Bill Cosby. How many have either been given a light sentence or kept their jobs from entertainment to politics? How many women who have come forward are the ones who are shamed, vilified, put in hiding, and/or branded as liars or sluts “who were asking for it”?

There are still Hester Prynnes that are fallen women or are considered sluts or liars. There are still Arthur Dimmesdales who refuse to come forward when they need to but for whatever reason won't. There are Roger Chillingsworths who feign shock at the proceedings but hide their own misdeeds under cloaks of respectability. There are Pearl Prynnes who speak out and often are forced to bear the brunt of previous generations.

We really haven't moved as far as we thought from Hester's day.