Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from The Printed Page where book lovers share the titles they received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the past week. Mailbox Monday currently is on tour, and this month’s host is Library of Clean Reads.
Here’s what I added to my shelves:
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran, from the author
In her fourth novel, national bestselling author Michelle Moran departs from the ancient world and enters the gilded but troubled court of Marie Antoinette with the intriguing story of Marie Tussaud, a woman who survived the French Revolution only by creating death masks of the beheaded aristocracy.
When Marie Tussaud learns the exciting news that the royal family will be visiting her famed wax museum, the Salon de Cire, she never dreams that the king’s sister will request her presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. As Marie familiarizes herself with Princess Elisabeth and becomes acquainted with both Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, she witnesses the glamorous life of the court. It’s a much different world than her home on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris, where bread can only be had on the black market and men sell their teeth to put food on their tables.
The year is 1788, and men like Desmoulins, Marat, and Robespierre are meeting in the salons of Paris, speaking against the monarchy; there’s whispered talk of revolution.
Spanning five years from budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom. (publisher’s summary)
The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton, from the author
A rural idyll: that’s what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the Cévennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and to set up in business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you’re no longer here on holiday. There is French bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbours, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol. And that’s before the arrival of Catherine’s sister, Bryony… (publisher’s summary)
Miss Hildreth Wore Brown: Anecdotes of a Southern Belle by Olivia deBelle Byrd, from the author
While Olivia deBelle Byrd was repeating one of her many Southern stories for the umpteenth time, her long-suffering husband looked at her with glazed over eyes and said, “Why don’t you write this stuff down?” Thus was born Miss Hildreth Wore Brown — Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. If the genesis for a book is to shut your wife up, I guess that’s as good as any.
On top of that, Olivia’s mother had burdened her with one of those Southern middle names kids love to make fun. To see “deBelle” printed on the front of a book seemed vindication for all the childhood teasing.
With storytelling written in the finest Southern tradition from the soap operas of Chandler Street in the quaint town of Gainesville, Georgia, to a country store on the Alabama state line, Olivia deBelle Byrd delves with wit and amusement into the world of the Deep South with all its unique idosyncrasies and colloquialisms.
The characters who dance across the pages range from Great-Aunt Lottie Mae, who is as “old-fashioned and opinionated as the day is long,” to Mrs. Brewton, who calls everyone “dahling” whether they are darling or not, to Isabella with her penchant for mint juleps and drama.
Humorous anecdotes from a Christmas coffee, where one can converse with a lady who has Christmas trees with blinking lights dangling from her ears, to Sunday church, where a mink coat is mistaken for possum, will delight Southerners and baffle many a non-Southerner. There is the proverbial Southern beauty pageant, where even a six-month-old can win a tiara, to a funeral faux pas of the iron clad Southern rule — one never wears white after Labor Day and, dear gussy, most certainly not to a funeral.
Miss Hildreth Wore Brown — Anecdotes of a Southern Belle is guaranteed to provide an afternoon of laugh-out-loud reading and hilarious enjoyment. (publisher’s summary)
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt, unrequested from Clarion Books
The Dump is what Doug Swieteck calls his new home in upstate New York. It is 1968, and Vietnam War veterans are returning. Apollo space missions to the moon are under way, and Doug’s hero, Joe Pepitone, is having another good year for the Yankees — but the biggest event for Doug is learning about the plates of John James Audubon’s birds in a book under glass at the local library. Doug, who first appeared in The Wednesday Wars, runs into trouble with his teachers, especially the “so-called gym teacher,” which earns him a number of afterschool detentions. At home, his father, a stern and abusive man, often brings the unsavory Ernie Eco to dinner; his older brother, Christopher, is accused of stealing, and his oldest brother, Lucas, returns from the war with a bandage covering his burned eyes and without his legs. In this stunning novel, Gary Schmidt masterfully weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery, art and inventiveness, truth and lies, in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival. (publisher’s summary)
What books did you add to your shelves recently?
Disclosure: I am an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Anna, you had a great week in books — nice variety.
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Thanks, Diane!
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You got Madame Tussaud! Can’t wait to hear what you think of it. And I loved Miss Hildreth Wore Brown, so funny!
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I can’t wait to start Madame Tussaud. Glad to hear Miss Hildreth made you laugh.
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You’ll like Tapestry of Love! Enjoy the books.
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Thanks! I hope so!
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Ooh, they all look like good books!
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I thought so, too. 🙂
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You will enjoy the Rosy Thornton book I am sure. The others look good too.
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I’ve heard nothing but good things about it, so I’m hopeful.
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What gorgeous covers on Madame Tussaud and Tapestry of Love! I’ve been drooling over the Tapestry book…
Miss Hildreth is a great read. Hope you enjoy it.
Here’s my MONDAY MEMES
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Too bad the Madame Tussaud galley doesn’t have that awesome cover! 😦
Glad you enjoyed Miss Hildreth. I could use some humorous reading right now.
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Great books 😀
I can’t wait to read the new Moran book
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Me, too!
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What a good mailbox list. I loved The Tapestry of Love 🙂
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I’m happy to hear that. I’m really looking forward to it.
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I’ve really been out of the game for awhile! I didn’t know Michelle Moran had moved out of Egypt yet! Can’t wait to read that.
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Welcome back! I’m excited to read something by Moran in a different historical period…and one I know nothing about.
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here’s mine http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2011/02/mailbox-monday-in-this-way-i-was-saved.html
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Thanks for stopping by, Mary Ann!
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Can I tell you how jealous I am of Okay For Now? I love Gary Schmidt’s work!
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I remember you liked The Wednesday Wars, and since this is a companion novel, I’m going to read them in order.
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Oh wow, I want to read most of those! I am jealous over here!
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Hope you get a chance to read them!
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Oh, how I would love to get myself a copy of Madame Tussaud! Enjoy your new books!
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I am very excited about Madame Tussaud. Moran is one of my favorite authors.
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Nice stack of books. I got The Tapestry of Love last week and Madame Tussaud sounds great.
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I’ll keep an eye out for your review!
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Okay for Now sounds wonderful!
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At first I wasn’t so sure, but when I noticed the Vietnam connection, I became intrigued.
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I have Tapestry and Miss Brown too…enjoy your reads 😀
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We definitely have similar tastes in books. Looking forward to your thoughts on those.
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I HAVE to get Miss Hildreth!! It sounds like a lot of fun and it is a new to me book.
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In a way it reminds me of the Sweet Potato Queens, southern and humorous. I can’t wait!
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Madame Tussaud is my most coveted book of 2011. I haven’t received it yet but I think I am going to. Michelle Moran sent me a hand written letter via snail mail saying that she hopes I am enjoying it. The letter itself was such a treat. After all, how often do you get a hand written letter these days, especially from a favorite author?
I had a good mailbox too. http://teddyrose.blogspot.com/2011/02/maibox-monday.html
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I got that letter a few days after I received the book, so hopefully the book is making its way to you now. She is such a nice person.
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I’m waiting on Madame Tussaud v eagerly – the Miss H wears Brown sounds v funny — can’t wait to see what you think of it!
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I’ve been dying to read Madame Tussaud. Just a couple of books to finish up, and I’m going to savor that one.
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I’ve got Madame Tussaud, Miss Hildreth is on the way, and I’d really like to get my hands on The Tapestry of Love! Great Mailbox! Thanks for visiting mine 🙂
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I’m looking forward to your reviews!
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What wonderful books! I’ve heard fantastic things about the first two and I really enjoyed The Wednesday Wars, so I’m looking forward to its sequel.
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Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I figure getting the sequel gives me an excuse to read the first book. LOL
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Very much looking forward to your thoughts on Tapestry of Love!
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I’ve heard good things about it and haven’t read the author before, so I’m looking forward to reading it.
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Yay, you got Rosy Thornton’s book. That was my first read of the year and it was a great way to start it. A cozy read.
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I sure could use a cozy read right now!
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