January and February Books

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 25th February, from 5.30pm at Cuckoo, Cafe Bar, Bury Old Road, Prestwich.

Our Books for February

Becoming Queen by Kate Williams
'I will be good,' promised the thirteen-year-old Victoria, when she understood that she would be Queen of the most powerful country in the world. That, of course, is a matter of opinion. And there are other layers to the story. With a combination of novelistic flair and historical accuracy, Kate Williams begins by relating the heartbreaking story of Princess Charlotte, the Queen who never was, and her impact on the young Victoria. Our perception of Victoria the Queen is coloured by portraits of her older, widowed self - her dour expression embodying the repressive morality propagated in her time. But Becoming Queen reveals an energetic and vibrant woman, determined to battle for power.It also documents the Byzantine machinations behind Victoria's quest to occupy the throne, and shows how her struggles did not end when finally the crown was placed on her head. In the late eighteenth century, monarchies were in crisis across Europe. Discontented with their mad King, George III, and his spendthrift offspring, the English pinned their hopes on the only legitimate grandchild: Princess Charlotte, daughter of George, Prince of Wales. But Charlotte died at the age of twenty-two, a few hours after giving birth to a stillborn son. A grieving nation immediately began venerating her as someone who would have made an ideal Queen while Charlotte's rackety uncles embarked on a race to produce the next heir.No one thought that little Victoria, daughter of the Duke of Kent, would ascend the throne. She, in turn, became increasingly determined to take control of her own destiny, and clashed constantly not only with her hugely ambitious mother but with her protege and household comptroller, the Irish adventurer, John Conroy. After she became Queen, ministers, even her beloved Prince Albert, still attempted to steal power away from her. Revealing how Charlotte's death shaped Victoria's reign and laying bare the passions that swirled around the throne, Becoming Queen is an absorbingly dramatic tale of secrets, sexual repression and endless conflict. After her lauded biography of Emma Hamilton, England's Mistress , Kate Williams has produced a most original and intimate portrait of Great Britain's longest reigning monarch.


Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero A Novel without a Hero by William Makepeace Thackeray
Set in the years before and after Waterloo, the novel tells the parallel stories of two schoolfriends - the quiet, long-suffering Amelia and her brilliant, scheming friend, Becky Sharp. The novel portrays all the corruption and decadence of 19th-century England. 

 

November Books

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 3rd December, from 5.30pm at Cuckoo, Cafe Bar, Bury Old Road, Prestwich.

Our Books for November

Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the nursery, Elizabeth's beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley live nearby and the orderly world of Pemberley seems unassailable. But all this is threatened when, on the eve of the annual autumn ball, as the guests are preparing to retire for the night a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham - Elizabeth's younger, unreliable sister - stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered.

A Long Walk Home One Woman's Story of Kidnap, Hostage, Loss - and Survivalby Judith Tebbutt

This is the story of how, over a period of one hundred and ninety-two days, I was torn away from the life I knew and loved, and dragged down to the depths of despair; of how I endured enforced isolation and near-starvation at the hands of Somali pirates; and of how I made a choice to survive by any and all means that I could muster. In September 2011 Judith Tebbutt and her husband David set out on an adventurous holiday to Kenya. A couple for thirty-three years, they had first met in Zambia: Africa had played a major part in their life together. After a joyous week on safari in the Masai Mara, they flew on to a beach resort forty kilometres south of Somalia. And there, in the early hours of 11 September, tragedy struck them. Judith was torn away from David by a band of armed pirates, dragged over sea and land to a village in the arid heart of lawless Somalia, and there held hostage in a squalid room, a ransom on her head. There, too, she learned the terrible truth that the responsibility of securing her release now rested with her son Ollie. Powerful, moving and at times quite devastating, this is Judith Tebbutt's story in her own words.

September Books

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 22nd October, from 5.30pm at Cuckoo, Cafe Bar, Bury Old Road, Prestwich.

Our Books for September

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

At St Oswald’s, an old and long-established boys’ grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald’s, is finally – reluctantly – contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt.
 

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-41), with its combination of the sentimental, the grotesque and the socially concerned, and its story of pursuit and courage, which sets the downtrodden and the plucky against the malevolent and the villainous, was an immediate popular success. Little Nell quickly became one of Dickens' most celebrated characters, who so captured the imagination of his readers that while the novel was being serialised, many of them wrote to him about her fate.
Dickens was conscious of the ‘many friends’ the novel had won for him, and ‘the many hearts it turned to me when they were full of private sorrow’, and it remains one of the most familiar and well-loved of his works.

July Books

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 10th September, from 5.30pm at Costa Coffee, Longfield Centre.

Our books for July:

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie's world-famous serial killer mystery. There's a serial killer on the loose, bent on working his way through the alphabet. And as a macabre calling card he leaves beside each victim's corpe the ABC Railway Guide open at the name of the town where the murder has taken place. Having begun with Andover, Bexhill and then Churston, there seems little chance of the murderer being caught - until he makes the crucial and vain mistake of challenging Hercule Poirot to frustrate his plans...

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again -- the story starts there...Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.

 

Mist Over Pendle by Robert Neill

Seventeenth century England is a place of superstition and fear. Deep in the Forest of Pendle, people have been dying in mysterious circumstances. The locals whisper of witchcraft, but Squire Roger Nowell, in charge of investigating the deaths, dismisses the claims as ridiculous. Until a series of hideous desecrations forces Roger and his cousin Margery to look further into the rumours. And what they discover brings them face to face with the horrifying possibility that a coven of witches is assembling, preparing to unleash a campaign of evil and destruction...Robert Neill's novel is a classic tale of witchcraft set in a wild inaccessible corner of Lancashire and in a time when the ancient fear of demons and witches was still a part of life...and death.

June Books

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 30th June, from 5.30pm at Costa Coffee, Longfield Centre.

Our books for June:

 

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a classic of socialist literature, exploring the plight of a group of painters and decorators who are oppressed by their exploitative employers. Since its first publication, Robert Tressell's passionate and enlightened novel has had a perspective-changing, revelatory impact on generations of readers. The eye-opening spectacle of the workers, refusing to acknowledge that they are being ground down at the hands of their masters is brilliantly conceived. Notable for its humour, humanity and frankness The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a hugely meaningful and important novel.

The Review 

The story of this book took place in the early 1900’s, although the premise of the book is clear it was still shocking for readers to follow the story of children starving to death, due to the poor conditions under which their parents worked. That they would work hard all their life and still end up with nothing, but the impact of their employers making job as cheap as possible in order to make as much money as possible was significant. The workers were owned by the job, skills were not recognised and they weren’t even given enough materials to the job.

What frustrated all our readers was the inability (or perhaps apathy) to change the culture which at best was exploitation but bullying was also frequent. The men seemed to be content with being taken on the annual workers outing, although poor treatment continued, the trip was just another means of control, but the workers did not see through this.

Our discussion of the book did draw a contrast to today, although conditions are not as severe, there are still many example of worker being treated unfairly or not being able to afford to live reasonably on the pay they receive. An interesting read, but reading was made difficult by the sadness of the material.

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the tumult and intrigue of The Wars of the Roses to vivid life through the women of the House of Lancaster and the House of York, beginning with the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen. A woman who won the love of a king and ascended to royalty by virtue of her beauty, Elizabeth fought tenaciously for the success of her family -- her daughter who would one day unite the warring dynasties, and her two sons whose eventual fate has confounded historians for centuries: the Princes in the Tower. An active player in the power struggles that surrounded her, she made hard and courageous choices, always trying to protect those whom she loved. Informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills, Philippa Gregory gives an unforgettable voice to an extraordinary woman at the heart of a devastating conflict.

The Review

Most of our readers enjoyed this book (and keen to read more in the series) as the idea of using the historical context to create the story was considered to be well executed. Although the use of magical powers is perhaps not so credible, we reflected on witchcraft being an accepted notion during this period in history.

The tenacity of the fight of the Woodville’s  was clear and perhaps even impressive given the lack of power women had in society during this period and length of time the fight for family success lasted.

It was recommended to the group that the story is further supported by the series of programmes with Philippa Gregory, that discuss the history and facts behind the story.

May Books

THE GREAT GATSBY - is showing at the Printworks Manchester on Tuesday 11th June at 17.25.

If anyone would like to come along either on the tram from Prestwich or meet at 5pm outside the Printworks, please contact either Jill or Vicki over the weekend.

Next Meeting Tuesday 18th June from 5.30pm at Costa Coffee, Longfield Centre

Our Books for May 

 

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

Meet Angel Tungaraza, professional cake-baker, amateur matchmaker, an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. A uniquely charming, funny and touching novel of life, life and food set in Rwanda, a country recovers from unimaginable terror and violence. Angel Tungazara has recently moved to Rwanda from her native Tanzania. With her husband, Pius, and the five orphaned children of their late son and daughter, she is hardly short of things to do. But she still finds time to pursue her hobby and her passion, her small but increasingly successful business, baking individually-designed cakes for the parties and celebrations of her neighbours and their friends. Angel is entirely aware that many of the Rwandans around her have witnessed and survived horrors she can barely imagine. But she also knows that their lives continue, that they also have reasons to celebrate, to be joyous and to be happy. As she gets to know her neighbours and as they tell her their stories, she comes to realise how much each of them has to mourn as well as how much they have to celebrate. And, finally, she comes to accept how much that is true of her too.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach...Everybody who is anybody is seen at his glittering parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion buzzes with bright young things drinking, dancing and debating his mysterious character. For Gatsby - young, handsome, fabulously rich - always seems alone in the crowd, watching and waiting, though no one knows what for. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.

Review of Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Both of the books for this month provided a split opinion of the group. Firstly to three men in a boat, mostly we were all glad to have read the book and we enjoyed some of the observations and description of the trip. However, some felt it was not as funny as they were expecting commenting that this was just a jolly trip for three men who had too much money and time on their hands. The tangent stories didn't add to the book and in some cases only served to confuse. The book was originally intended to be a travel book, perhaps the resultant in between story we see, along with the passage of time, has led to the split view.

Moving on to Cutting for Stone, this was a dense book which contained a great deal of medical language and several story threads, upsetting in places which meant that some of our readers did not enjoy the book. We all agreed that this is perhaps a book we would not normally read, but the opportunity to review it was welcomed. Those in the group that enjoyed the book found the story compelling and very sad in many places, but once past the first section of the book you wanted to follow the life of the Stone twins and their extended family and connections.

April Books

Next Meeting Tuesday 7th May from 5.30pm at Costa Coffee, Longfield Centre

Our Books for April

 

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - We are continuing to read this book

 

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome

The classic tale of three men and a boat…and a dog. Not much more to say other than it will make you laugh……a lot. What could be more relaxing than a refreshing holiday on the river with your two best friends and faithful canine companion, Montmorency? However, as J. discovers, there is more to life on the waves than meets the eye – including navigational challenges, culinary disasters, and heroic battles with swans, kettles and tins of pineapple.

Review of the Mayor of Casterbridge By Thomas Hardy

The group enjoyed the book, which is especially good news since at least one member did not have enjoyable memories of having to read Hardy at school. It was agreed that Hardy had created some engaging characters and scenes, with a story full of twists and emotional turmoil resulting from the actions and secrets they kept from one another. We don’t know if this is the case but we like the idea of the title of Mayor of Caster bridge being interchangeable between Henchard and Farfrae.

Henchard’s out of control bullying left little sympathy from the group when his fall from Mayor came about by conspiracy, as it considered to be his own fault. He didn’t learn from his mistakes to become a nicer person or more sympathetic.

We also explored the issues of the lack of status for women at this time and what was the cause of Elizabeth not asking questions of about her father, was conditioning of her upbringing, the lack of status or just innocence of the times?