Tuesdays Tomes: The Uttermost Farthing by R. Austin Freeman

Tuesdays Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books.

The Uttermost Farthing by R. Austin Freeman

The Uttermost Farthing is definitely one of the strangest tales I’ve ever read. Mr. Humphrey Challoner lost his beloved wife just two years after their marriage. She surprised a burglar and was shot dead. The police can’t find the burglar/murderer and he vows to himself that he will bring the criminal to justice.

When we first meet him it is twenty years later and he has filled the time since his wife’s death amassing a strange anthropological collection.

He bequeaths his collection to his friend, Dr. Wharton, telling him that he will find the story of the collection in the Museum’s catalogues -written in diary style and telling the tale of each acquisition. We read the catalogue entries along with Dr. Wharton…

R. Austin Freeman, a British author, is one of those authors that I just knew nothing about until I read this book and wrote this review. Famed for his detective fiction featuring Dr. Thorndyke and credited with creating the reverse crime story-the first half tells you the crime (and maybe even the perpetrator) and the second half is all about how the crime is solved and the criminal caught. Sounds intriguing and I’m going to hop on over to Librivox and see if they have a Dr. Thorndyke mystery.

The Uttermost Farthing was published in the US in 1914 and in the UK 6 years later and under a different title: The Savant’s Vendetta. Perfectly read by MaryAnn Spiegel, you can download this free audio-book here or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

Tuesdays Tomes: Christmas Holidays at Merryvale by Alice Hale Burnett

Tuesdays Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books.Christmas Holidays at Merryvale by Alice Hale Burnett is a little bit of Christmas cheer. This very short book written in 1916 and intended for very young readers is a delight for readers of all ages. It is part of Burnett's series for young boys and follows three fun filled days leading up to and including Christmas morning...looking in at the toy store window and hoping, a snowball fight (with forts!), a sleigh ride to get the tree and children's generosity towards other children.

Cheerfully read by Kara Shallenberg, you can download this free audio-book here, the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here or just read it on-line here.

I'm sharing the lovely pencil drawn illustrations:

Tuesdays Tomes: My Man Jeeves by P.G. Woodhouse

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books.

My Man Jeeves by P.G. Woodhouse

In this 1919 collection of 8 short stories (many which appeared earlier in the US in the Saturday Evening Post and in the UK in the Strand ) only half actually feature Jeeves…the first three and the last but it really doesn’t matter-the rest feature Reggie Pepper and the entire collection is humorous.

In the first three stories, Bertie Wooster and his man Jeeves are in New York City for their adventures with Bertie’s friends. Here’s how Bertie describes his invaluable valet:

‘Jeeves--my man, you know--is really a most extraordinary chap. So capable. Honestly, I shouldn't know what to do without him. On broader lines he's like those chappies who sit peering sadly over the marble battlements at the Pennsylvania Station in the place marked "Inquiries." You know the Johnnies I mean. You go up to them and say: "When's the next train for Melonsquashville, Tennessee?" and they reply, without stopping to think, "Two-forty-three, track ten, change at San Francisco." And they're right every time. Well, Jeeves gives you just the same impression of omniscience.’

“Leave it to Jeeves”…how famous is that line and how I wish I had a Jeeves to leave it all too. You know a clever chappy who could not only tell me what clothes look good on me and how to wear my hair most becomingly but who could solve the little problems of my friends as well…well, solve their problems in the same way that House almost kills his patients before curing them!

Have you ever spent any time at the shore? Here’s a peak at what Reggie Pepper has to say about it from “Helping Freddie”

‘Do you know Marvis Bay? It's in Dorsetshire. It isn't what you'd call a fiercely exciting spot, but it has its good points. You spend the day there bathing and sitting on the sands, and in the evening you stroll out on the shore with the gnats. At nine o'clock you rub ointment on the wounds and go to bed.

It seemed to suit poor old Freddie. Once the moon was up and the breeze sighing in the trees, you couldn't drag him from that beach with a rope. He became quite a popular pet with the gnats. They'd hang round waiting for him to come out, and would give perfectly good strollers the miss-in-baulk just so as to be in good condition for him.’

For a fun, humorous look at life on the rich side on both sides of the Pond, you can’t do any better than this wonderfully written, genteel collection. Perfectly read by Mark Nelson, you can download this free audio-book here or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here. (Its thanks to a reader’s comment that I thought to look for P.G. Woodhouse at Librivox!)

Here's Hugh Laurie as Bertie and Steven Frye as Jeeves

Tuesdays Tomes: Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth by H.G.Wells

Tuesdays Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books.

The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth by H.G.Wells

Scientists Bensington and Redford team up to create a wonder growth formula. First they give it to chicks-just to see what happens-at an experimental farm in the English countryside. The chicks soon grow to gigantic size.

The experimental farm however is a bit of a hap-dash thing-they simply hire an old couple (Mr. and Mrs. Skinner) to feed the chicks with the wonder powder. The Food of course ends up feeding much more than the intended chicks and soon huge wasps, weeds and even rats are causing havoc in neighboring towns.

Scientist Redford decides to give the food to his newborn son… what was he thinking! Mrs. Skinner leaves the farm in a hurry because of fear of the rats but not without taking two cans of the food with her…what for? Well, to give to her newborn grandson, of course. You can see where this is going…

This 1904 satiric novel is very funny at times-I laughed out loud- and while not as well known as other H.G. Wells books, has been mined by popular culture for many hilarious/horror movies. In 1976 a not very good movie by the same name, Food of the Gods, takes off from the early chapters of the book. And who can forget those two classics, “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 2”-which starred a very young George Clooney? My favorite is the wonderful 50s movie “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” and my favorite scene is her looming over the screen at the drive-in.

This book was also published as a comic book (graphic novel)… I used the cover of the comic book for this post’s pix.

If you’re in the mood for a good chuckle and quite a bit of adventure you can download this free audio book here or the e-book in pdf. or kindle here. The audiobook was read by Alex C. Telander at a furious pace that while annoying at first grew to seem totally appropriate for this harebrained tale.

Tuesdays Tomes: From Plotzk to Boston by Mary Antin

Tuesdays Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books.

From Plotzk to Boston by Mary Antin

This memoir of her trip from her homeland to America was written when Mary Antin was but eleven years old. It was originally written in Yiddish and translated by her two years later into English. For anyone with a 19^th century immigrant family history, this memoir is an invaluable peek into what our ancestors trip may have been like.

She tells of packing up their home, saying good bye to all their friends and embarking on the first leg of their journey- a ride to the larger town nearby with a railroad. From there it’s to the German border where they are held up because of an outbreak of cholera in Poland and the fear that the travelers may be ill. More train rides, more hold ups, and always more demands for money.

Finally, they’re aboard ship and sea sick! 17 days later they enter Boston harbor and the joy they feel as they spot their husband and father on the wharf waiting for them is wonderful.

The charm and pathos of this immigrant’s tale is in the details and her youthful way of looking at the world…all the new things to see as well as all of the uncertainty.

Pleasantly read by Sue Anderson, you can download this free audio-book here or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

My father immigrated to the US from Riga, Latvia at age 8. I was always delighted with his tales of the trip as a child. His family traveled second class on their journey so they had their own stateroom and a proper dining room but from what he said he was the only one in the family eating…in fact, for the first week he and another child were the only people in the dining room at all!

Tuesdays Tomes: The Old English Baron by Clara Reeve

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books.

The Old English Baron by Clara Reeve

The Old English Baron is a light historical romance novel set in England in the time of Edward VI (which means lots of castles and even a joust).

Edmund, a local boy of the village, has been taken into the household of good Lord Baron Fitz-Owen and raised with his sons and cousins. One day a knight from the north, Sir Philip Harclay comes to visit-he has just retired from the wars and returned to England and wishes to find his old friend, Lord Lovel. He’s told that Lord Lovel died about 15 years earlier and his pregnant wife died just weeks after and that his heir, his cousin, sold the castle to his brother-in law, Lord Fitz-Owen. He is received by Baron Fitz-Owen and there meets young Edmund and struck by the boy’s demeanor and his likeness to his old friend, offers to adopt him. Edmund asks to remain where he is, with Baron Fitz-Owen and Sir Harclay states that nevertheless he will always be a friend to Edmund.

Have you noticed already the clue? Edmund looks likes the original Lord Lovel…yes, this is a tale of uncovering the true identity of Edmund with, since the author calls this a Gothic tale, the help of the ghosts of the dear departed.

This book was published in 1778 but it is so very modern in tone and style that if I hadn’t Googled to find the date of publication- I never would have guessed. The author, Clara Reeve, talks about the influence of the Castle of Otranto (you can read my review of this very first Gothic novel here) on her.

Pleasantly read by MaryAnne Spiegel, read my favorite way with no character voices just in a pleasant voice throughout, this is a very satisfying light entertainment. You can download this free audio-book here or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

Tuesdays Tomes: The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Tuesdays Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books.

The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart

There’s a master criminal about…he’s burgled and murdered with impunity. No one can catch him. Detective Anderson wants a chance but his police supervisor is reluctant to let him having already lost another fine young detective to the chase- Detective Wentworth was found gunned down with a paper bat pinned to his chest where his badge should have been.

Aristocratic and adventurous Miss Cornelia Van Gorder has just rented a country house in the suburbs right in the neighborhood where The Bat is now working. She thought it was so fortuitous-just when she decided she wanted to leave the city for a while, this house became available through the sudden death of the owner, Mr. Courtleigh Fleming of the Union Bank. With her niece Dale and her long time servant Lizzy, they have just settled in when suddenly all the servants, excepting the Japanese butler quit and a threatening letter arrives. “If you stay in this house any longer—DEATH. Go back to the city at once and save your life.” But Miss Van Gorder won’t leave!

This country house mystery romp is just chock full of interesting characters with several of them having hidden identities just to add to the fun!

Mary Roberts Rinehart is often called “the American Agatha Christie”. Her first mystery, The Circular Staircase (available here at Librivox –its good but because it has multiple readers I will not be reviewing it on Tuesdays Tomes) was published in 1906. Her last book The Frightened Wife was published in 1953.

In 1920, The Bat first appeared as a play (written with Avery Hopwood) and was immediately acclaimed on Broadway. In 1926, the prose The Bat was published. It is said that it inspired Bob Kane to create Batman! In 1933 RCA Victor brought out The Bat as a recording-one of the first audio books! It was made into movies in 1926, 1930 and 1957 with Vincent Price (but of course!).

You can download this free audio-book here or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

Tuesdays Tomes: Mary Cary: Frequently Martha by Kate Langley Bosher

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly review of mainly vintage books.

Mary Cary: Frequently Martha by Kate Langley Bosher

“My name is Mary Cary. I live in the Yorkburg Female Orphan Asylum. You may think nothing happens in an Orphan Asylum. It does….Today I was kept in. Yesterday, too. I don’t mind, for I would rather watch the lightening up here than be down in the basement with the others. There are days when I love thunder and lightening. I can’t flash and crash, being just Mary Cary; but I’d like to, and when its done for me it’s a relief to my feelings.”

That’s how we (and her new diary) meet this delightful girl: Mary Cary. This entire wonderful book is told in the first person by Mary to her diary.

Why was she kept in…well, Mr. Gaffney came to talk to the girls “for the good of their characters” and he told them that they had much to be thankful for and should be thankful for everything. And they should stand up to show that they understood and were thankful. Mary just couldn’t stand up. “I’m not thankful for everything…Can you be thankful for toothache, or stomache, or any kind of ache. You cannot. And not meant to be either.”

That’s Mary-truthful and insightful! You will just love her simple adventures and her heartwarming way of looking at the world.

This 1910 novel quickly sold over 100,000 copies-quite a bestseller in its day. Kate Langley Brosher peoples Mary Cary:Frequently Martha with a wonderful collection of personalities…from the lovely, kind Miss Catherine to the hypocrite Headmistress of the Orphan Asylum to the inhabitants of Yorkburg, Virginia everyone is revealed to us by Mary Cary.

Who’s Martha? Mary would like to be a good and sweet little girl so whenever she just can’t hold to that ideal-she’s Martha: smart, outspoken, stubborn and quick to anger at any sign of injustice. (Sounds like a good girl to me!)

Wonderfully read by Jan McGillivray (I’m convinced her voice changes and sounds like a 12 year old’s as soon as the chapter starts!) you can download this free audio-book here or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

Tuesdays Tomes: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson plus Dueling Monsters Questions and Answers

Tuesdays Tomes is a weekly review of mainly vintage books.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

This week I couldn't resist sharing this movie poster rather than a book cover :)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll’s friends are becoming concerned…something strange is going on at his house…someone strange, a Mr. Hyde, is often seen entering the house by the back laboratory entrance. And then there’s the matter of the strange will written by Dr. Jekyll which says in effect that in the event of his death or disappearance all his property goes to Mr. Hyde.

Mr. Utterson, Dr. Jekyll’s lawyer and our narrator, is certain that this will will cause trouble-if Hyde knows of it why he could murder Dr. J., hide the body and gain all of Jekyll’s considerable wealth. What could make his friend write such a will...blackmail?

Mr.Utterson is determined to find out more. What he learns of Hyde’s character is appalling-even his physical description is shocking. He’s said to cause immediate repugnance-even hatred-in anyone meeting him, though no one can say why. He seems to be the antithesis of good Dr. Jekyll-a humanist and philanthropist.

Now I usually don’t like to give away the story in my reviews but I think that the crux of this tale is well know-even if the story itself unread. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one and the same person.

Dr. Jekyll himself narrates his tale of woe- he concocted a potion in his laboratory that divided his character. He would take a draft, hit the town as Mr. Hyde and return home to take another that brought him back to himself. What was his intent? Did he wish to explore his evil side? Why? As a Victorian (and this tale first published in 1886 is distinctly Victorian), he was conflicted that even as a moral man, he knew himself to slip…we’re never told exactly what these slips encompassed (gambling, drinking, woman?). He wished to explore or rather partake without having his conscience bother him…Hyde has no conscience. And that of course becomes the problem…Hyde is far more evil than anything Dr. Jekyll expected.

You can download this free audio book here (perfectly read by Kristen Hughes) or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

Heather J. at Age 30+...A Lifetime of Books and Fizzy at Fizzythoughts joined up for a wonderful October read-along: Dueling Monsters-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (with Heather J.) and The Picture of Dorian Grey (with Fizzy).

Here are the questions posed by Heather and my answers. I’d love to hear if you agree or disagree with me.

Part of the implication of "Dr. Jekyll’s Account" is that Man Cannot Always Be Good. No matter how hard Dr. Jekyll tries to live a good, upstanding, sober life, he can’t resist the temptation of transforming into Mr. Hyde. Is this true of mankind? Can we never build a good society?

The dichotomy illustrated by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is too extreme. Dr. Jekyll himself embodied both good and evil with the good far outweighing the bad and with the bad kept in check by the good…the saving grace of human beings is that we have a conscience. We just need to use it-both in our daily lives and as a society. We need to remember that “doing nothing” is doing something and weigh in when we see wrongs occurring around us.

Having read Dr. Jekyll's version of events (and assuming we believe him), how much blame can we assign him? Should we blame his oppressive society or his lack of moral character? Another way of asking this: is Dr. Jekyll a sympathetic character?

Personally, I don’t find Dr. Jekyll a sympathetic character. Firstly, we hardly know anything about him-he never really speaks in his own voice. Secondly, when he speaks of Hyde and tells of the first time Hyde came out he describes him as small and puny-because this side o his character was underdeveloped-Jekyll then seems to revel in the growth of Hyde.

Does the novel suffer due to its lack of female characters? How would it have been different with, say, a female narrator?

LOL! Not only does the novel suffer due to its lack of females, Dr. Jekyll does as does his whole circle of friends. No one seems to be married! He wouldn’t have even felt the need for his experiment if his life had been a bit more balanced.

Evaluate the book’s psychological accuracy. Do these characters think the way people do?

Surprisingly, yes. Even given the distance of time and the lack of women, I think that the friendship shown by Mr. Utterson and even the questions asked by Dr. Jekyll resound today.

What do you think about the way in which the book is told, with multiple viewpoints with a dry lawyer at the center? Does it work?

Yes. I found the dry lawyer to be the best of men and a solid anchor that I could identify with.

What is the effect of the two narratives at the end? Does this dual explanation have anything to do with the dual nature of Jekyll/Hyde? Or is it just to provide an eyewitness account?

I took it as an eyewitness account but I like this question. Clever of Stevenson, eh?

Do you think Dr. Jekyll is a reliable narrator? Why or why not?

I think we have to rely on Dr. Jekyll as only he can tell us what he did…we can see through him as well.

In what sense might the Victorian period’s rigid moral standards be responsible for Dr. Jekyll’s tragic transformation into the evil Hyde? In other words, according to Stevenson’s story, what makes a man like Jekyll--a good Victorian, really--become the criminal Hyde

Stevenson was compelled to write this tale because he lived in the Victorian period but it is not confined by its time and place. In any society that puts a emphasis on appearances, problems will lurk under the surface.

In an earlier short story called “Markheim” (1874) Stevenson wrote that “evil consists not in action but in character.” How is that statement applicable to the various characters’ interest in discovering the facts behind “the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”?

I really don’t understand this question…Dr. Utterson uses the stories of Hyde’s actions to attempt to discover what is going on. I think the more interesting idea behind this quote is that it really explains to us what Stevenson thought and how different his Victorian sensibility was from ours. Today, I would say that “think what you want, but do good” is quite satisfactory. "Actions speak louder than words". This is a real political problem here in Israel-our present government gives lip service to peace but does everything to undermine it.

Tuesdays Tomes: Badge of Infamy by Lester Del Rey

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books.

Badge of Infamy by Lester Del Rey

Technically this 1973 book is science fiction but in reality it’s really just a good adventure story that happens to take place on Mars.

Dr. Daniel Feldman has lost his right to practice medicine and with it, his wife-all because he saved the life of a friend by performing an emergency operation outside of a recognized Medical Lobby hospital. With nothing to look forward to on Earth except a life as a homeless beggar, he hops a freighter to Mars. There he is welcomed by the colonists. They need his medical knowledge and even though he shouldn’t be practicing medicine he can’t refuse to help.

The colonists are engaged in a battle for freedom from Earth (yes, it definitely brought to my mind “No taxation without representation” parallels).

There’s also Chris (Dr. Feldman’s estranged wife and head of a Medical Lobby hospital on Mars) and a plague- which will either destroy Mars and Colonial Martian society or save it.

This is a good adventure story and unlike many science fiction tales the characters are well developed and relationships are explored. There also is not a lot of gobbly-gook pseudo science speak…definitely a good book for a newby to science fiction.

Pleasantly read by Steven Wilson, you can download this free audiobook here or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

Tuesdays Tomes: Dawn O'Hara, the Girl Who Laughed by Edna Ferber

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books. If you’ve reviewed a book recently-new or old- send me an e-mail and I will link to your post.

Dawn O’Hara, the Girl Who Laughed by Edna Ferber

“There are a number of things that are pleasanter than being sick in a New York boarding-house when one's nearest dearest is a married sister up in far-away Michigan.

Some one must have been very kind, for there were doctors, and a blue-and-white striped nurse, and bottles and things. There was even a vase of perky carnations--
scarlet ones. I discovered that they had a trick of nodding their heads, saucily. The discovery did not appear to surprise me.

"Howdy-do!" said I aloud to the fattest and reddest carnation that overtopped all the rest. "How in the world did you get in here?"

The striped nurse (I hadn't noticed her before) rose from some corner and came swiftly over to my bedside, taking my wrist between her fingers.

"I'm very well, thank you," she said, smiling, "and I came in at the door, of course."

"I wasn't talking to you," I snapped, crossly, "I was speaking to the carnations; particularly to that elderly one at the top--the fat one who keeps bowing and wagging
his head at me."

"Oh, yes," answered the striped nurse, politely, "of course. That one is very lively, isn't he? But suppose we take them out for a little while now."

And so we meet Dawn O’Hara, exhausted newspaper woman with a wonderful eye for the humor in life-even when ill and alone. Her doctors and sister agree that she must leave New York City to recuperate at her sister’s home in Upper Michigan. There her sister feeds her more eggs than could possibly be good for anyone (to “build her up”) and brings in a family friend and specialist, Dr. Von Gerhard, to examine her…is this a peek into early 20^th century medical practice?

Once she’s better, she’s determined to go back to New York and newspaper work. Besides feeling that she must earn her own living she also has a responsibility for the care of her hospitalized mentally ill husband…her sweet brother-in-law has been paying for his care while Dawn recovered. Dr. Von Gerhard steps in and helps her get work at a newspaper in Milwaukee-he feels it will be much less stressful than a NY paper.

This is my favorite part of the book- Edna Ferber herself had just recently finished working on a Milwaukee newspaper (this 1911 novel is Edna Ferber’s first book) and I absolutely loved the description of Milwaukee and all the German immigrants. Be warned: the food will make your mouth water!

The writing here is absolutely perfect as Ferber describes the other residents of the German boarding house/hotel where Dawn lives. It competes with the delightful scene when Dawn received a visit at her sister’s from some neighbors.

Don’t fear- there’s lots more than food and neighbors…for one, plenty of thwarted romance with Dr. Von Gerhard. I couldn’t get enough of this book and took to listening to it without doing anything else!! Surely a good recommendation!

Perfectly read by LeeAnn Howlett, you can download this free audio book here or download the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

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Tuesdays Tomes: The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books. If you’ve reviewed a book recently-new or old- send me an e-mail and I will link to your post.

The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace

Edgar Wallace wrote more than 170 books-many of them crime stories. In the Angel of Terror, (1922) he may have invented a new genre-the comic crime romance melodrama. Wonderfully read for Librivox by Allyson Hester, using a variety of comic voices, has gotten the perfect tone.

The story begins immediately with the sentencing phase of the trial of James Meredith-accused and found guilty-mainly due to the testimony of his fiancée, Jean Briggerland, of the murder of Ferdinand Bulford.

Here’s what the judge has to say:

"To suggest, as you have through your counsel, that you called at Miss Briggerland's that night to break off your engagement and that the interview was a mild one and unattended by recriminations is to suggest that this lady has deliberately committed perjury in order to swear away your life, and when to that disgraceful charge you produce a motive, namely that by your death or imprisonment Miss Briggerland, who is your cousin, would benefit to a considerable extent, you merely add to your infamy. Nobody who saw the young girl in the box, a pathetic, and if I may say, a beautiful figure, could accept for one moment your fantastic explanation.

Ah, what fools are men when confronted with a beautiful woman with the heart of a snake. James Meredith and Jean Briggerland are first cousins-he extremely wealthy, she not. If James dies, she inherits. Rather simple really. But things don’t go as smoothly for Jean as she had hoped. James’ best friend, John Glover, arranges a marriage for James so that not only does James stand in Jean’s way but his new bride. Lydia, as well. How this all plays out-from the marriage to the end of the book makes for a rollicking and rather hilarious tale.

Edgar Wallace’s devotion to details of the scene-often at the tensest of moments- helps set the humorous tone. This tale includes just about everything from a trip to the Riviera to a dashing Moor (warning-there is a racial epithet used here) to gamblers and chauffeurs. Part of the fun-I’m not sure who is the intended heroine here, sweet clueless Lydia or beautiful, conniving, lethal Jean.

You can download this free audio book here or download the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

Tuesdays Tomes: The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books. If you’ve reviewed a book recently-new or old-send me an e-mail and I will link to your post.This classic English country house locked door mystery is written by A.A. Milne...did you catch that name? Yes, its the same author of Winnie the Pooh fame. This humdinger of a mystery was written in 1922-four years before Pooh was born.

The country house party is hosted by Mr. Mark Ablett-with the able assistance of a household of servants and his personal aide, Mr. Cayley. The guests include a Major, an actress, a mother and grown daughter and Bill Beverly, "a cheerful young man in white flannel trousers and a blazer." All the guests are going off to play golf...Mr. Ablett is staying home. He is expecting an unlooked for and unwanted visit from his "wastrel" brother, Robert - unexpectedly back from Australia.

There's one more person to introduce, rather an important one for the story, Mr. Antony Gillingham-a friend of Bill Beverly, who, being in the neighborhood, decides to stop by and say hello at the Red House. At his arrival he is greeted by a rather strange scene, a man is beating on a closed door and calling:

"Open the door, I say. Open the door!"

"Hallo!" says Antony in amazement.

Cayley looked round suddenly at the voice.

"Can I help?" said Antony politely.

"Something's happened," said Cayley. He was breathing quickly. "I heard a shot-it sounded like a shot-I was in the library."

Well, have you guessed it yet? No, not the solution to the mystery...the identity of our amateur detective...yes, its Tony with the help of his friend, Bill. The unraveling of the mystery is worked out by Antony in a rather Sherlock Holmes - let me think and tell you, Bill, what I think - sort of way. (In fact, there are lots of Bill is Watson to Antony's Sherlock little jokes in the book.)

While the book lags a bit in the middle ( only for a chapter or two) it picks up again. The ending is just what I like...a bit surprising and a bit oooh, I got that part right.

So if you're in the mood for a bit of a lark on an English country estate, you can download this free audio book or download the free e-book in pdf. or Kindle format.

Tuesdays Tomes: Dandelion Cottage by Carrol Watson Ratkin plus the real Dandelion Cottage

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books. If you’ve reviewed a book recently-new or old-send me an e-mail and I will link to your post.

Dandelion Cottage by Carroll Watson Ratkin

This week’s selection definitely falls into the category of young adult fiction. It’s the story of 4 girls aged 11-14 and very nice girls they are. In fact, they’re just a little too good to be true-what we used to “goody two shoes” and I just bet that this was a 1904 best seller with mothers of tomboys! Only one girl ever even gets her dress or face dirty! (Go Mabel)

The four friends, Betty, Jeanne, Marjorie and Mabel have a long summer before them when they hit on the idea of asking Mr. Black if they can use the old rector’s house, now empty and terribly run down as a play house for the summer. He agrees-once they pay the rent, they can have the key…the rent - ridding the entire front yard of all the dandelions! The girls get to work and then once they have the key, the fun of furnishing and decorating the house begins.

This is a delightfully light listen, pleasantly read by Betsy Bush.

Sorry, e-book readers but this book is only available for download as a free audio book.

You can purchase a copy of Dandelion Cottage from the Marquette Historical Society.

Here’s something fun to know: Dandelion Cottage really exists. Its located in Maquette, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula and is now owned by Kathy Pohl and her husband. You can read what she has to say about living in a fictional and historic home here.

And here's a photo of the real Dandelion Cottage as it looks today! Isn't it just the perfect color!

Tuesdays Tomes: American Cookery, 1796 by Amelia Simmons

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books. If you’ve reviewed a book recently-new or old-send me an e-mail and I will link to your post.

“American Cookery”, 1796 by Amelia Simmons

This is an absolutely wonderful book and a peek into American life- and not just what they were eating- right after the Revolutionary War. It was the first cookbook ever to include such American foods as Johnny cakes, Indian Pudding and Pumpkin pie.

The first chapter, like many old cookbooks, is “Directions for …the procuring of viands.” There are 7 different kinds of peas listed and 9 different kinds of beans including six week beans, lazy bean and frost bean (makes you wonder doesn’t it.) But this isn’t just a list of what’s in the garden or the larder…here’s what she says about apples.

“There is not a single family but might set a tree in some otherwise useless spot, which might serve the two use of shade and fruit; on which 12 or 14 kinds of fruit trees might easily be engrafted, and essentially preserve the orchard from the intrusion of boys, etc. which is too common in America. If the boy who thus planted a tree, and guarded and protected it in a useless corner, and carefully engrafted different fruits, was to be indulged free access into orchards, whilst the neglectful boy was prohibited-how many million of fruit trees would spring into growth-and what a saving to the union. The net saving would in time extinguish the public debt, and enrich our cookery.”

When was the last time you read a cookbook that had a suggestion on how to extinguish the public debt! and make boys behave!

When you do get to the recipe section, Amelia Simmons gives the recipes that Americans wanted and that weren’t available in any other cookbook. She gives 4 different stuffing recipes for turkey.

I don’t think there’s any easier recipe anywhere than her potato stuffing. “Boil and mash 3 pints of potatoes (I’d guess about 6 cups), wet them with butter, add sweet herbs, pepper, salt, fill and roast as above.”

There are 3 different recipes for A Nice Indian Pudding and two for pumpkin that are baked in a crust…sounds like pumpkin pie to me.

“ Pompkin-One quart stewed and strained, 3 pints cream, 9 beaten eggs, sugar, mace, nutmeg and ginger, laid into paste…and bake in dishes three quarters of an hour.”

Besides these first-time-in-a-cookbook recipes for pumpkin and corn meal, there are 5 recipes for gingerbread, and even a recipe for Spruce Beer.

So if you like to read cookbooks, this is really a very special one. I’m not sure you could make much from it-unless you know what a gill is and you’re prepared to make emptins-for which there is a recipe- and which seems to be the key to many cakes.

If you’d like to take a peak at this wonderful bit of Americana, it’s available as a free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here. A facsimile edition published in 1958 and called the First American Cookbook is available at Dover Books.

I’m linking to Weekend Cooking-a weekly Saturday party at Beth Fish Reads...so if you like cooking and cookbooks, hop on over-there will be lots of interesting posts and reviews of new cookbooks (but yes, you have to wait to Saturday! :)

I also want to tell you about a book give away at Books and Quilts. No, its not a cookbook...maybe even better-its Rock and Roll! Yes, Heather is giving away a copy of Why AC/DC Matters by Anthony Bozza so hop on over and check it out.

Tuesday Tomes: Lone Star Planet by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire plus a Lone Star Quilt

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books. If you’ve reviewed a book recently-new or old-send me an e-mail and I will link to your post.

Lone Star Planet by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire

This is a humorous short science fiction novel…now I know that science fiction isn’t for everyone (I personally love it!) but this little book is really more silly than scientific. First published in Fantastic Universe in 1957, in 1958 it was published as a book with the title "A Planet for Texans" but when it was published as a part of a double book with Four Day Planet in 1979, it was once again under the title "Lone Star Planet".
You may have guessed already by the title that this planet was settled by Texans. When it became possible for human beings to leave earth the State of Texas decided to move lock, stock and barrel to this planet…yes, even including taking the Alamo with them.

Now it's generations later and a new ambassador from the Solar League has come-mainly to warn the New Texans of an imminent attack by the s'Scrauff-a canine descended group of space villains and to try to find out what really happened to the previous ambassador-was he murdered and by whom? Will he be able to convince the New Texans of the danger and the need to return to the earth fold?

Well read by Mark Nelson, be warned this may have you either chuckling or groaning out loud.

You can download this free audio-book here or the free e-book in pdf. or kindle format here.

This Lone Star quilt hangs on our living room wall...lol! yes, behind the TV!

The corner design is a Rose of Sharon, the border design is a tight cable and the star itself is outline quilted. This quilt is hand quilted and is one of the last quilts I did using a polyester batt. It has been on the wall for years and still looks pretty good.

Tuesdays Tomes: Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger Jr. plus photos of historic NYC

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books. If you’ve reviewed a book recently-new or old-send me an e-mail and I will link to your post.

Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger, Jr.

I’ve always heard of Horatio Alger’s rags to riches stories but had never read any of his books and I was very curious what exactly he said that became such a part of American culture. Ragged Dick, published in 1868 was his first book in the rags to riches formula…he went on to write about 100 more!

Young Dick, orphaned since the age of 7, is 14 when we meet him…uneducated, homeless but honest and earning his own living as a book black or shoe shine boy. He gets 10 cents a shine, earns a fair amount each day and spends it all before the next morning.

“Seven o'clock! I oughter've been up an hour ago. I know what 'twas made me so precious sleepy. I went to the Old Bowery [a theater] last night, and didn't turn in till past twelve.

‘You went to the Old Bowery? Where'd you get your money?’ asked the man, who was a porter in the employ of a firm doing business on Spruce Street. ‘Made it by shines, in course…’[said Dick.] "Some boys get it easier than that," said the porter significantly. "You don't catch me stealin', if that's what you mean," said Dick. "Have you got any money to buy your breakfast?’ [asked the porter]. ‘No, but I'll soon get some.”

Things may have continued like that except that Dick (called Ragged Dick as you may have guessed because of his clothes) meets a boy about his own age but Frank is from quite a different background-a young gentleman, Dick takes Frank on a tour of the city-more about that- and Frank gives Dick some new clothes and some new ideas. Frank awakens in Dick ambition-not a mean sort of ambition but the desire to better himself and we follow his adventures as he does just that.

There were several things I really liked about this book- one, the strong emphasis placed on getting an education (almost everyone who takes an interest in Dick suggests he get an education), two, how generous and kind Dick is towards his fellow boot blacks, and three the wonderful description of NYC! My only real fault is with the contrived ending.

The reading by Alys Attwater is just perfect…her clear cheerful voice totally fits this tale written by Horatio Alger with young readers in mind.

You can download this free audiobook here or the free e-book in pdf. or Kindle format here.

Having lived in NY I just loved the descriptions of the mid 19^th century city-the downtown area from Broadway to Wall Street and back up to Union Square and even further to Central Park.

Here's an old map of lower Manhattan with many of the streets where Ragged Dick takes place.

I never knew that a fountain had been constructed in Union Square to celebrate the opening of the Croton Aqueduct (bringing fresh water from upstate into the city.) Here's a photo of the fountain...today the park is best known for its Farmer's Market.

Here's a view of Trinity Church...now surrounded by tall buildings.
A 19th century painting showing skating in Central Park.

Tuesdays Tomes: Cleek: The Man of Forty Faces by Thomas W. Hanshew

Tuesday Tomes is a weekly book review of mainly vintage books. If you’ve reviewed a book recently-new or old-send me an e-mail and I will link to your post.

Cleek: The Man of Forty Faces by Thomas W. Hanshew

I’ve been in the mood for a good mystery and I found a real doozy in Cleek: The Man of Forty Faces! Detective Cleek helps Scotland Yard solve those difficult and pesky cases with his brilliance-yes, this is an old time detective story.

Not only is it a ripping good tale but it is wondrously read by Ruth Golding. I was sure she was a professional actress or reader but when I went to her website, she makes it clear that she is an amateur-an amateur reader for Librivox! How lucky for us! You can be sure I’ll be listening and reporting on other books read by Ruth Golding.

The action begins immediately and never lets up! In the prologue-which is really a prequel-we find out how Cleek changes from master criminal to master detective.

“All my life I’ve fought against the law-now let me switch over and fight with it. I’m tired of being Cleek the thief; Cleek the burglar. Make me Cleek, the detective, and let us work together, hand in hand, for a common cause and the public good. Will you Mr. Narkum? Will you?”

“Will I? Won’t I!” said Narkam, springing forward and gripping his hand. “Jove! what a detective you will make. Bully boy! Bully boy!”

The main characters are all interesting and likeable: Cleek with his amazing ability to change both his looks and mannerisms, his young Cockney assistant, Dollops, the heavenly Miss Ailsa Lome, and that kind old gent, Superintendent Maverick Narkom.

Published in 1913 this book has everything… from London to the sewers of Paris, from horse racing (Oh, how I hooted with glee when I got to that tale!) to romance. The cases are all interesting and best of all to me, the clues to the riddles are all there so while I didn’t actually solve them all, I did hit on the guilty party or at least the motive several times. (One of the annoying things with Agatha Christie is that you can never solve them because there’s always critical information known only to Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot and only revealed at the final denouement. It always felt like cheating to me!)

You can download this free audio book here or the free e-book in pdf or kindle format here.