Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is one of the most captivating works of fiction I’ve read in a long time. (I thank my reliable source Beth G. for the recommendation.) Set in rural England, this is a story of youthful passion, class differences, family loyalty, secrets, crime, coverups, abiding love, wrong decisions, their consequences, …
Continue reading Literary fireworks for the July 4th holiday
Lost and Found: Coming of Age in the Washington Press Corps by Ellen Hume captures the idealism of a young reporter, from her early days as a cub in California, moving to the L.A. Times and its Washington Bureau, and her intuitive skills in ferreting out the truth behind the headlines and press releases. As …
The Known World by Edward P. Jones , published in 2003, is a richly woven saga set in antebellum South between 1840 and 1860. The central focus is the Townsend family headed by Augustus and Mildred, who are freed former slaves. They have also bought freedom from their white former owner, William Robbins, for their …
Continue reading A novel novel: when blacks were slave owners
"All politics is loco," Senator Ed Markey told a gathering of the New England Council on Monday, paraphrasing a favorite saying of House Speaker Tip O'Neill of Cambridge. Just part of the craziness this week is the President's unilateral decision to activate the California national guard and use active duty Marines to control crowd protests …
Continue reading Markey fights Trump assault on Massachusetts – and beyond
Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell, author of A Woman of No Importance, is another display of the author’s mastery of biography. In this scrupulously researched and documented chronicle, her subject is Pamela Churchill Harriman, a too-often-dismissed woman of consequence. A woman of power and influence, she was, in the 20th century, an even more influential courtesan …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 