I’ve been doing a lot of reading and some TV viewing, so here are a TV series getting a fair bit of good press and one novel from my summer list. True to the past, I keep picking up and reading books unrelated to those I’ve assigned myself. More book thoughts in future posts!
ROMPING IN THE 16TH CENTURY
My Lady Jane (Amazon Prime)
Fast-paced, lusty, high-spirited, and even raunchy some might say, My Lady Jane turns history on its ear in an eight-part series about Queen Jane of England. It’s a blend of comedy with fantasy. Some characters appear as humans but are also Ethians who can change into animals to escape tricky situations. One maid becomes a hawk, and a key male is a horse by night. Suspend any sense of reality all ye who watch!
Sickly King Edward is on the throne, but his sister and others are desperately conspiring either to hasten his demise or to ensure that they will be the one to succeed him. Jane Grey, cousin to Edward, is forced into marriage with Lord Guildford Dudley by her scheming mother, while her sister is tied to a decrepit man several decades her senior. When Jane becomes a reluctant queen, her enemies scheme and plot to try to kill her. The series is full of adventure with an ever-present narrator offering helpful sometimes humorous commentary.
This won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it’s different and possibly worth sampling an episode or two. The Chief Penguin and I aren’t hooked on it, but we have now watched half of the series. Note, the real Jane Grey reigned for only 10 days.
UNEARTHING FAMILY HISTORY
Homecoming by Kate Morton (on my summer reading list)
Australian Kate Morton is the author of several historical novels, most of them firmly based in a particular geographic place and often featuring a historic home. Homecoming, her latest, is set in Sydney and the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. It’s December 2018 and journalist Jess returns to her native country after 20 years of living in London. She is 40 and recently unemployed.
Her beloved grandmother Nora is in the hospital after a fall. Offhand words from Nora and her unusual behavior before being hospitalized send Jess on a search to learn more about a tragic family event in 1959 that no one had ever told her about. Putting her reporting skills to work with her curiosity, Jess talks to townspeople still around, reads a detailed published account, and delves deeply to try to solve the mystery of these family deaths. She also ponders her home in London versus feeling at home in Australia.
There are many strands to this story, the setting is lovingly and beautifully presented, and a cast of intriguing characters keeps the reader guessing. It’s a satisfying long novel for a summer day, and it’s the best one by Morton I’ve read. Recommended! (~JWFarrington)
Photo of the Week
Note: Golden lilies and header photo of rosy astilbe or False Goat’s Beard ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)
