Mary Taylor was one of Charlotte Bronte’s best friends. She was a businesswoman, and author, and an ardent and vocal feminist. She had good business sense mixed with an adventurous spirit, which let her to study in several European countries, sell cattle and run a store in New Zealand, and climb Mont Blanc in Switzerland. Over time, her fame has been eclipsed by Charlotte’s, but Mary was so much more than just “Charlotte’s friend.” Mary … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Mary Taylor →
Miss Miles was written in 1890, and it describes the lives of four women in Yorkshire. Sarah Miles is a working-class young woman who wants to become a “lady” even though she doesn’t fully understand what being a lady means. Amelia is a lady, or the closest thing the area has to one, and she is driven to despair because her family will not let her do any kind of work. Dora and Maria are … Continue reading Miss Miles by Mary Taylor →
MirandaB mentioned that she was reading this book in May’s Whatcha Reading post, and being a big fan of Connie Willis’ time traveling historians books, I had to give this a try. This is a series of nine full length books, and a whole BUNCH of novellas. Just One Damned Thing is the first book, and by necessity is setting up the rest of the series. This is the story of Madeline Maxwell, a historian … Continue reading Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor →
I’ll readily admit that I live under some kind of rock. A rock liberally decorated with cat hair, bookshelves and Sealab 2021 DVDs, but a rock nonetheless. Why do I say this? Until less than a month ago, I had never heard of MaryJanice Davidson. OK, picked yourself up from the floor yet? See, I suffer from a mild case of kainolophobia when it comes to romance novels. Almost every hot new breakout author I’ve … Continue reading Undead And Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson →
It’s our first Whatcha Reading of the new year! We all hope you’re off to a great start on your reading. But, if you aren’t, that’s okay too! There is plenty of time to catch up, especially if you’ve set some personal reading goals. For the second year in a row, I’ve failed to meet by Goodreads Reading Challenge amount, which is to read 60 books in a year. So, I’m attempting it again. Third … Continue reading Whatcha Reading? January 2018 Edition →
The close friendship between Charlotte Bronte and Mary Taylor began in boarding school and lasted for the rest of their lives. It was Mary Taylor, in fact, who inspired Bronte to leave her oppressive parsonage home and go to Brussels, the eventual setting for her novel, Villette. Mary herself led a much less restricted life, especially in her later years as a feminist essayist who strongly urged women to consider their “first duty” to be … Continue reading Miss Miles →
A Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf is a book by two women who are writers and friends. These women, Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney, set out to highlight some of the friendships between other women writers, and show how women have sustained each other’s personal and creative lives. The concept of the book is better than its execution. In the case of Jane Austen’s … Continue reading A Secret Sisterhood by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney →
Male literary friendships are the stuff of legend; think Byron and Shelley, Fitzgerald and Hemingway. But the world’s best-loved female authors are usually mythologized as solitary eccentrics or isolated geniuses. Coauthors and real-life friends Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney prove this wrong, thanks to their discovery of a wealth of surprising collaborations: the friendship between Jane Austen and one of the family servants, playwright Anne Sharp; the daring feminist author Mary Taylor, who shaped … Continue reading A Secret Sisterhood →
Welcome back to Cover Snark! Elyse: Is that Taylor Swift? Sarah: Whoa. Maybe? Elyse: “You got that gray-green scaly thing that I like…” Amanda: I appreciate the quality of this cover for such a silly book, but I don’t envy a giant reptile in the snow. From PamG: So. What about this guy’s musculature? I mean his head is literally smaller than his upper left arm (which appears to be whispering in his ear.) The … Continue reading Cover Snark: Once Again, Shirts Are Too Complicated →
In this week’s podcast episode, we’re looking at the book reviews for the April 2006 issue of Romantic Times, aka RT Book Club. Every time we do one of these recaps, the masthead has a 65% chance of being different. It keeps us on our toes! Special and massive thanks to Kay Layton Sisk for sending me this issue! You can also find all the RTRW content at our category page for Romantic Times Rewind. And, … Continue reading Romantic Times Rewind: April 2006 Reviews →
This Rec League comes from Anne, who wanted a part two of audiobook recommendations. Our previous audiobook Rec League dropped in 2016! I am an avid audiobook listener and am always searching for new narrators. I know that you posted a couple Rec League requests about audiobooks, but the most recent one that I found was from 2016 and I wondered if you would consider an updated Rec League request for audiobooks. It turns out … Continue reading The Rec League: More Audiobook Recs →
