I usually try to find more gothic or spookier books to cozy up with during October, but none of the darker tales stood out. Instead, I began to utilize my time during soccer warmups and kept moving along with my murder mystery series. I also did a little research reading and started another historical fiction series.

I returned to volunteering at my local library this month and amongst the hundreds of donations, I found Vampires Of El Norte, a novel by Isabel Cañas. I have had another book of hers, The Hacienda, on my reading list and so I am hoping that her gothic vampire fiction will fit the darker mood next year.

Here are the books I was able to read through during October:

THE SEASON: THE SOCIAL SEASON OF THE DEBUTANTE BY KRISTEN RICHARDSON

I read The Season more as a resource for a book I am writing and to help myself to a better understanding of the debutante world. Kristen Richardson speaks several times in the book of her connection to the debutante ritual and provides a history of its origin and how the social season has evolved over time and within varying cultures.

Reading history is a favorite pastime of mine and I enjoy little details that can broaden my understanding of a time and place. This book sets the origin of the debutante in Queen Elizabeth’s court, the “Virgin Queen’ in need of women should could trust outside of her male advisors. I was also enlightened by descriptions of the custom in Victorian times and it gave me a broader view of Jane Austen’s England and later the shift to titled English gentry looking for new world money.

In the case of this book, it helped that Richardson had a personal understanding of the world of debutantes and it showed in her ability to share about the rituals in the modern day and to teach about who a twenty-first-century debutante may be and what they are expected to do. Another eye-opening point was the connection between some debutant groups in the US and their association with consolidating white male wealth.

What I did not like about the book was a chapter would finish and then the next would go back a half a step or two in time and repeat a little. There was at least one line that seemed to be stated twice and that gave me the impression that each chapter did not work cohesively together and that Richardson did not do enough to differentiate some of her sentences.

In the end, I felt the book was insightful and did give me more of an understanding of the customs and traditions of the debutante and the social season. I can’t say I would expect to reread it, but it may interest someone who wants to further their understanding of old traditions and how they are still around today.

FOOTNOTE - My husband is from St. Louis and he was familiar with the Veiled Prophet as an organization, not as a member, but because the group hosted an annual parade and the state fair. His history furthered my understanding of the organization and the part it played in the State of Missouri.

TO DIE BUT ONCE BY JACQUELINE WINSPEAR

The fourteenth installment of the Maisie Dobbs mystery series begins on a more personal note. The dedication by the author is to her father and in the story, Maisie encounters a family in the neighborhood who is worried about their son who seems to be missing from a job painting aerodromes with fire-retardant paint.

The case brings Maisie into the world of war profiteering and to a powerful man who lurks in London’s underworld. Also, through the story is an unveiling of young soldiers who are stranded on a beach in France and a decision by someone close to Maisie that will have lasting consequences. Meanwhile, Maisie is trying to be cautious as she awaits an appointment with the review board as to the welfare of the young girl who had been billeted with her at her country house the year before.

I liked how Winspear showed instead of told about the events before, during, and after Dunkirk and what the scene must have been like during that harried call of private vessels in what would be called ‘Operation Dynamo.’ There were also several points of tension in the story that gave me a desire to keep reading, mesmerized by both the intrigue of the mystery and an account of history.

This book was one of my favorites in the series. I truly believe Winspear shines the most when there is a personal interest in the story on her part. I have found that her author notes are rich with information about her inspiration. In To Die But Once, much of the inspiration was from her father, who was one such painter who was responsible for testing the newly painted aerodromes with torches.

FOOTNOTE - The story of Dunkirk brought to mind the movie by Christopher Nolan who did a remarkable job of directing actors to convey the desperation and panic that many of the men must have felt this book also showed the feeling many of those felt, a fear like being a corned animal without a possible of survival until little pleasure cruisers and yachts began to appear in the distance.

THE LAST KINGDOM BY BERNARD CORNWALL

“My name is Uhtred. I am the son of Uhtred, who was the son of Uhtred and his father was also called Uhtred.”

Knowing that Cornwell has written thirteen books in his Saxon Tales series, these first lines immediately tell me the Uhtred of this story is different from all the others, and yet, traditions are going play a major role in this series. Uhtred in The Last Kingdom is the son of a dispossessed nobleman, captured as a child and raised by Danes. England is made up of five kingdoms and the Danes have conquered them all, save for one, Wessex—the last remaining territory of England and ruled by the pious Alfred. With little love for the Wessex King, Uhtred embraces the pagan Vikings and their impressive war tactics.

Regardless, always in the back of his mind, Uhtred is thinking of his lands, Bebbanburg in Northumbria currently held by his wicked uncle, but as Uhtred grows older, falls in love, and trains to fight, he is finally forced to choose on which side he will stand.

I started this book apprehensively, not knowing if the author would have a proclivity toward disturbing narration with the savagery of war. This book most certainly does have violent scenes during battles and some scenes depict the onerous life of women captured. Even with the expected violence, I appreciated that Cornwell did not harp on the more disturbing scenes. There is also a mastery here of telling a historical story through the eyes of a fictional character, but keeping to the truth of history.

This series caught my attention after watching a couple of episodes of The Last Kingdom on Netflix and decided to try reading the books first and then watch the series later. The visual stimulation is a bit intense at times, but the history related in books is so rich that I plan to read the books and will maybe watch the series depending on how violent the story continues.

FOOTNOTE - I would mention that if you were to have a severe negative response to violence, I would be cautious in reading these books. I am sensitive myself and tend to veer away from the extremely violent, especially from extremely violent sexual assault scenes. Even so, with Cornwell’s writing, the assault happens over one or two sentences, not pages and pages. As a history enthusiast, there is a certain expectation that one has to expect some barbarism, especially when the plot is centered around conquest and holding one's lands from invaders.

REMARKABLE CREATURES BY TRACY CHEVALIER

The last book I read by Tracy Chevalier was Girl With the Pearl Earring which was nearly two decades ago. The sudden inspiration to read Remarkable Creatures came from my son who had done a Women’s History Month presentation on Mary Anning. He and I both enjoy geology, archeology, and little paleontology so I thought I would give this book a try.

The story is from the point of view of Elizabeth Philpot, a London spinster who had been sent to Lyme Regis with her other unmarried sisters to save family expenses. She befriends Mary Anning, a girl who is but a child and the story unfolds with discoveries and different men who interfere with their friendship.

I enjoyed reading an interpretation about a woman from history who, until recently, had been ignored while the men who purchased her fossils acquired great fame and recognition. Chevalier’s writing style was easy and fluid and it was not hard to finish the book in a weekend.

What caught my attention in the story was the tendency to gravitate toward relationships, particularly the love triangles that pervaded the different women in the story. The book also felt like the story was written with a modern hand. In my opinion, Mary’s singular sexual encounter in the book was not needed and it felt as though the author included it because, in the present time, books that sell usually have sex somewhere.

I would say I was glad I read the book as it gave me an idea of life in Lyme Regis and what it must have been like walking on those beaches to find those numerous fossils. Being an Austen fan, I enjoyed reading another side of Lyme and added to my appreciation for the book Persuasion.

FOOTNOTE - When I finished Remarkable Creatures and tried to talk to my son about her, his only response was, “Ok, Mom,” and had little interest in discussing the book or Mary Anning with me. Kids.

THE AMERICAN AGENT BY JACQUELINE WINSPEAR

Maisie Dobbs is both an investigator and ambulance driver during the early stages of the Blitz, meant to terrorize the English populace and create an opening for an invasion. Many people in the media are working on keeping national morale and encouraging countries like the United States to step in to help England. Catherine Saxon is such a person, an American, on the ground in London reporting on the travesties of the nightly bombings, until she is found dead in her apartment.

During this tumultuous time, Maisie is beginning to open her heart again and even has the hope of adopting a young girl who was billeted with her family in Chelston during the ‘Phoney War’ when children were being evacuated from the city. The murder of an American journalist and the arrival of a known American agent Maisie met in Munich will cause her to be tangled in a web of international intrigue, wartime propaganda, and the complications of families trying to survive the blitzkrieg, including her dear friend.

Winspear utilized one of her strengths in her ability to include omissions and not let the reader into all the knowledge of what the investigation holds. This makes it more difficult for me to find out the truth and when the killer was revealed, I had the smallest inkling but had no idea as to the motive. The conclusion was not at all what I was expecting and Winspear also did well to parallel elements of the case to Maisie’s own life, making her decision in the end even more consequential.

One negative was that I was not thrilled with the love interest for Maisie. I am glad that after fifteen books in she may find a match, but something does not seem right with this relationship and I am a bit unsettled as to where it may lead for her.

This book, out of many, could be a standalone book as Winspear does provide much recap in each of her books. Even so, I would still suggest reading the series all the way through to invest in the character and what she has been through.

FOOTNOTE - This book spoke to the isolationist idea in America and their reluctance to enter a war miles away. This idea of ‘letting Europe (and the Middle East) fight their own wars’ feels relevant to conversations people are having today.

COVER PHOTO - ‘Green and Brown Trees Under White Clouds’ in Bavaria, Germany, courtesy of Alesia Kozik

2023 OCTOBER READINGLIST