Mailbox Monday — October 29

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia, formerly 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 the Mailbox Monday blog.

Here’s what I added to my shelves over the last couple of weeks:

The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn, unsolicited from New American Library (Amazon/IndieBound)

In July 1914, innocent, lovely Clarissa Granville lives with her parents and three brothers in the idyllic isolation of Deyning Park, a grand English country house where she whiles away her days enjoying house parties, country walks, and tennis matches.  Clarissa is drawn to Tom Cuthbert, the housekeeper’s handsome son.  Though her parents disapprove of their upstairs-downstairs friendship, the two are determined to see each other, and they meet in secret to share what becomes a deep and tender romance.  But soon the winds of war come to Deyning, as they come to all of Europe.  As Tom prepares to join the front lines, neither he nor Clarissa can envision what lies ahead of them in the dark days and years to come.  Nor can they imagine how their love will be tested, or how they will treasure the memory of this last, perfect summer.  (publisher’s summary)

Home Front Girl by Joan Wehlen Morrison, from Independent Publishers Group for review (Amazon/IndieBound)

The diary of a smart, astute, and funny teenager provides a fascinating record of what an everyday American girl thought and felt during the Depression and the lead-up to World War II. Young Chicagoan Joan Wehlen describes her daily life growing up in the city and ruminates about the impending war, daily headlines, and major touchstones of the era — FDR’s radio addresses; the Lindbergh kidnapping; Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Citizen Kane; Churchill and Hitler; war work and Red Cross meetings.  Joan’s original hand-drawn doodles of her latest dress or haircut infuse the pages with whimsy and period flavor.

Home Front Girl is not only an entertaining and delightful read but an important primary source on the late 1930s and early 1940s — a vivid account of a real American girl’s lived experiences.  (publisher’s summary)

Imperative: A Tale of Pride and Prejudice, Volume 1 by Linda Wells, a win from Austenesque Extravaganza (Amazon)

Fitzwilliam Darcy is a man with a great many secrets to keep, one involves his sister, and the other involves his heart. The problem is, he cannot just keep the secrets. They demand attention, and action, and in hopeless times, a good man does not always think things through, even when he is desperately trying to do the right thing for the two most important women in his life. (back-of-the-book summary)

Imperative: A Tale of Pride and Prejudice, Volume 2 by Linda Wells, a win from Austenesque Extravaganza (Amazon)

Fitzwilliam Darcy has survived threats to his mind and body, exposure of his deepest secrets, and endless challenges from his family. He could never have come so far without Elizabeth Bennet by his side. She has accepted and excelled in the position she has taken, and is the reason why he is so clearly the Master of Pemberley. Now he must finish the task he began the day they took their vows. He must safeguard his sister while protecting his estate, his family, and their future. Hope is their byword, love is the key. (back-of-the-book summary)

What books did you add to your shelves recently?

Disclosure: I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.