A Blessed Pentecost to You!!

An Eastern Orthodox icon of the Christian Pentecost. This is the Icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. At the bottom is an allegorical figure, called Kosmos, which symbolizes the world. (Source: Wikipedia)

A re-post from the Archives as I attempt to keep up with my wonderful Brave Writer families and students in Literary Analysis: Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing...

I just do not understand something. Why don't evangelical churches celebrate Pentecost? Because of a family emergency last night which meant I didn't get to bed until after 3:00 this morning, I was not able to attend church this morning. Thus, I have no idea if this year was different and our church, Pine Valley Community Church, celebrated Pentecost during the church service. I hope so! It broke my heart not to attend, but I really could not move until after church was over, and even past that. 

Scripture tells us that the Gift Jesus promised His disciples has arrived at Pentecost: the Holy Spirit. We read Christ's promise in the 14th chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John, beginning at the 15th verse:

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.... 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you..." (ESV).

Then on the Feast of the Pentecost, with Jerusalem filled with Jews from around the known world, Christ fulfilled his promise fifty days after His Resurrection. We read in the second chapter of The Acts of the Apostles:

2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, 'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.' 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine” (ESV).

Peter then preaches to the astounded visitors to Jerusalem (also in the second chapter of Acts), quoting the prophecy of Joel hundreds of years past as well as passages from the Psalms of David while also relating what he and the other disciples witnessed of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection as well as the many sightings of Christ following His resurrection from the dead until His ascension to the right hand of the Living God. Peter concludes:

"32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing" (Acts 2, ESV).

And then we read the response of the crowd listening to Peter:

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls" (Acts 2, ESV).

The events of this Pentecost are simply incredible, and it is from this amazing Gift of the Comforter, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit of God, that the Gospel of Christ first began to spread and the Church began to form. Why evangelical churches do not regularly celebrate Pentecost is a mystery to me. It always lands on a Sunday and thus it can be easily celebrated with Scripture readings, with praise songs and hymns about the Holy Spirit, with sermons focused on the Holy Spirit, and perhaps even with baptisms since approximately 3,000 people were baptized and added to the Church on the first Pentecost after the Resurrection in Acts 2. Pentecost is a Biblical holy day, and we can celebrate it Biblically, too, with "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with [our] heart[s]" (Ephesians 5:19, ESV).

In the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, one of the Collects (collective or public prayers) for Pentecost reads thus:

Almighty and most merciful God, grant, we beseech thee, that by the indwelling of thy Holy Spirit, we may be enlightened and strengthened for thy service ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

And the Book of Common Prayer 2011's Collect for Pentecost (also in the sidebar of this blog):

"O GOD, you teach the hearts of your faithful people by sending us the light of your Holy Spirit; By your Spirit, give us right judgment in all things, so that we may rejoice forever in his holy comfort; Through the victory of Christ Jesus our Savior, who lives and rules with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen." (References: John 14.26; Acts 2.1-4; Philippians 1.9-10; Acts 9.31)

The Anglican Church has an interesting name for Pentecost: Whitsunday which comes from the white garments worn by those who are baptized this day, just as over 3,000 people were baptized on that first Pentecost in Acts 2. In the above hyperlink to the Catholic Encyclopedia entry of "Whitsunday," an interesting fact is given:

Whitsunday, as a Christian feast, dates back to the first century, although there is no evidence that it was observed, as there is in the case of Easter; the passage in 1 Corinthians 16:8 probably refers to the Jewish feast. This is not surprising, for the feast, originally of only one day's duration, fell on a Sunday; besides it was so closely bound up with Easter that it appears to be not much more than the termination of Paschal tide [Eastertide].

So why is this important Biblical Holy Day, celebrated from the very earliest days of the Christian Church, hardly mentioned in evangelical churches, including my own? I don't know. I simply don't get it. But I pray that the evangelical churches will indeed start to celebrate Biblical Holy Days more and more in the future, pulling on the rich, 2,000-year heritage of Pentecost/Whitsunday.

I close with this quotation (also in the sidebar of this blog) on the importance of Pentecost:

"Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, and Pentecost is God in us."

~Robert Baer

Wishing you a blessed Pentecost,

Books Read in 2017

And here is the link if you would like to click on any of these 80 titles and find out more about them: Susanne's 2017 Goodreads Booklist. I haven't yet posted all of the reviews from this booklist, but they'll be coming along in weekly batches--I hope! That's the plan, anyway!

Starting all over with a new booklist for 2018,

Brave Writer Podcast!!

This week I was featured on the Brave Writer Podcast and spoke with Julie about Poetry, Fanfiction, and Chronic Illness, plus the classes I'm teaching this fall and spring. Being the senior teacher on staff, I joined Brave Writer when we were teaching classes via e-mail on Yahoo Groups! Now Brave Writer has grown to thirty instructors (when I joined, there were four of us, including Julie!) and has taught 20,000 students in our online classes!

Julie has become a force in home education, and her amazing team has created a social media presence through the Brave Writer Lifestyle that allows homeschooling parents to find assistance, encouragement, and even counsel/coaching through Julie's Homeschool Alliance.

Here's the link to the Brave Writer Blog post where you may listen to the 45-minute podcast, download the show notes, and have access to all of the information, plus there's a written Brave Writer teacher interview at the end: Brave Writer Blog Podcast with Susanne Barrett. I'll copy and paste the written interview here for you (The blue links are Brave Writer affiliate links):

What kind of a writer were you in high school?
In high school, I mostly wrote poetry. I discovered the joys of reading and writing poetry due to my tenth grade English teacher, Mr. Sebastian. [He] also taught an elective class in creative writing, and there I learned to write poetry—mostly free verse heavily influenced by Dickinson—no surprise there! In fact, many of the poetry forms I teach in the Playing with Poetry Workshop I first learned in Mr. Sebastian’s class.

What is one of your favorite classroom moments?
Well, I wouldn’t say it was my favorite, but my most memorable classroom moment was when I was teaching Writing 116 (the MLA Research Essay) at PLNU, and the new English Department chairperson came in to observe my teaching. I was horribly morning-sick with our second child, and this class started at 7:30 AM. I managed to teach despite severe nausea, and my class was soooo wonderful; they knew how sick I was feeling (and why), and they kept the discussions flowing beautifully. As soon as the department chair left, I rushed out and vomited spectacularly into the trash can outside the classroom door…in full sight of and to the applause of my entire class. I was red-faced for a week…and the department chair teased me about it for years.

What inspires you?
Truly beautiful writing. Truly gorgeous landscapes. The music of the wind in the treetops. Candlelight, dip pens, bottled ink, and a blank journal page. The scent of old books and notes written in the margins by previous owners of said old books.

What would your autobiography be called?
The Bookish Theoric (a quote from Shakespeare’s Othello)

Which superpower would you like to have? What is a superpower you already have?
I would love to be able to function on two hours of sleep—then I could do so many things I enjoy doing. My family claims I already have “the editing eye”—I can spot grammar errors anywhere and everywhere.

Where would you go in a time machine?
I would meet the Brontë family in Victorian England and spend an afternoon chatting with them at their parsonage in West Yorkshire. They were so brilliant—three sister writers and a brother artist/poet, plus a wise father/pastor.

If you could be any character in fiction, who would you be?
Jane Eyre. Easiest question here. I love her quiet strength as she stands up stubbornly for what she believes in. Her thirst for learning when young, her desire to serve others, her curiosity and intelligence, her unobtrusive talents in art and teaching, and her strength of character—all of these qualities drew me to her the first time I read Jane Eyre.

What’s your favorite smell? What memory does it remind you of?
I love the rich smell of fresh plums which remind me of picking fruit from gnarled trees for my grandmother and watching her make her famous plum jelly. Aaaah, the pride in seeing jar after jar of palest-pink jelly on the pantry shelf. I also love the slightly spicy scent of Cécile Brünner climbing roses—roses that my great-grandmother grew in her little city garden.

What was your favorite toy growing up?
My stuffed Camel-with the Wrinkled-Knees from the Raggedy Ann and Andy books. He was blue with printed patches, and I promptly named him “Camelot.” He (with my help, of course) used to type extremely insulting letters on my mother’s college typewriter to my brother’s stuffed blue poodle, Pierre. I saved much of their correspondence and keep their badly-spelt letters upstairs in my heirloom box.

Cake or pie?
Cake, of course!! I adore every kind of cake except for pineapple-upside-down and German chocolate. My favorite is still yellow cake with chocolate frosting which was my brother’s and my birthday cake every year. (He was born on my third birthday.)

When you were little, what did you want to be?
I knew as early as fourth grade that I wanted to be a teacher. Before that, I wanted to be Aurora from Sleeping Beauty or a ballerina. (I did take ballet, jazz, and tap classes and fell in love with tap; I wasn’t nearly flexible enough for ballet!)

What’s something you’d like us to know about reading Shakespeare?
Always, always, always read Shakespeare out loud!! My high school Shakespeare teacher had spent her college summers traveling in a Shakespearean acting troupe up and down the Eastern seaboard, and she always “cast” the plays we were to read aloud in class, saving the best roles for herself. (And Mrs. Jordan made a mighty fine Petruchio from Taming of the Shrew, I can tell you!) And be sure to attend live Shakespeare performances of decent quality.

If live performances aren’t available or in one’s budget, then check out some great film performances from the library; I especially recommend the 2009 Hamlet with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart and the 1993 Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson (but please preview the latter—there are some adult-type glimpses here and there).

Shakespeare is meant to be seen and heard, not merely read from a book. However, if a Shakespeare play needs to be read, then read it aloud in a family/group or at least read along with an audio version; Librivox has free audio versions of most of Shakespeare’s plays. In addition, most libraries have excellent audio versions on CD available (Arkangel productions are usually amazing!). And HAVE FUN!! Shakespeare is meant to be enjoyed; reading his work is not a chore merely to be survived.

Hope you enjoyed all this!! 

And I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Yes--Another Bundle of Book Reviews!

(Image: my Darcy quote necklace, courtesy of Cass Grafton and Ada Bright upon the release of their wonderful book, The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen.)

I read voraciously, and I'm struggling to catch up with my spring and summer reading that I reviewed on Goodreads--some in more detail than others, depending upon how quickly I flew through them. My "summer treat" of a month (okay, I admit it: two months!) of Kindle Unlimited resulted in briefer reviews with fewer details, especially since I don't have access to the books to look up a few facts here and there; when I'm reading up to four to five books per week, they often blend together. (Certainly the Pride and Prejudice variations get all mushed up in my head since they pretty much feature the same characters each time!)

So here are my reviews of six books, only half of them P&P variations...and all from the same series by a single author. But we'll start and end with some classics! Enjoy!!

Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In my not-so-humble opinion, L.M. Montgomery writes some of the most beautiful prose in the English language. Her imagination sparkles through Anne, now a mother of six, and her children who have the same "scope for imagination" as their mother. This novel covers about six years in the lives of the young Blythes, with stories woven around different happenings to each of the children, thus paving the way for the next book in the series, Rainbow Valley, which, written 20 years before Anne of Ingleside, again shares stories of the young Blythes as well as the addition of a new family in the manse, a family torn apart by the death of the pastor's wife and their children's mother.

I've read the Anne series so many times that my paperback books are falling to pieces; someday I'd like to get a nice hardcover set, perhaps including the newly-published ninth book in the series, although I do have almost all of them on my Kindle.

These books are some of the sweetest and most poignant depictions the minds, hearts, and souls of children. L.M. Montgomery is a masterful storyteller as well as a splendidly-sensitive writer. Each of her books is a treasure.

The Honorable Mr. Darcy by Jennifer Joy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Darcy is accused of murdering George Wickham during the Netherfield Ball while he and Elizabeth were locked in the library. If Darcy confesses the truth to clear his name, Elizabeth will be forced to marry him. But who actually killed the scoundrel? A mystery which Elizabeth seeks to solve...and which places her in mortal danger...with Darcy to the rescue!

This was my second reading of this suspenseful mystery novel; I'm not sure when I read the first, but when one remembers "whodunnit" only a third of the way through the book, it becomes obvious that one has read said mystery novel. I remember being quite shocked at the perpetrator when I read it the first time, and the suspense is wonderful!! A terrific mystery and a splendid unveiling of Mr. Darcy's true character and his protectiveness of Elizabeth balanced with his admiration of her skillz of deduction. Yes, Lizzy has skillz.


The Indomitable Miss Elizabeth: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Jennifer Joy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A continuation of The Honourable Mr. Darcy, this mystery revolves around the murder of someone very close to Elizabeth, someone whom Lady Catherine threatened the day before the militia parade. Darcy must help Elizabeth through her grief and to solve the mystery before Elizabeth's life is again endangered by a murderer in Meryton.

I really enjoyed this second mystery in the series. I had read the first one before this summer, but the second volume of this series was new to me and very intriguing. When an author as talented as Jennifer Joy combines my love of mysteries with my love of all things Austen, I know I'm in for a treat!! :D


The Inseparable Mr. and Mrs. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Jennifer Joy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another mystery for Darcy and Elizabeth to solve! Now engaged, Elizabeth and Darcy soon realize that someone is trying to kill a person at Longbourn! Plus, Georgiana must be introduced to her sister-to-be, and many other mysterious hijinks occur that team up Darcy and Elizabeth once again in solving another mystery in Meryton.

A wonderful series, I read all three volumes so quickly that I'm having to press to remember details. A lovely series for mystery lovers as well as fans of Elizabeth and Darcy.


Dark Desires by Eve Silver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Young Darcie has been betrayed by everyone she loved. Alone in a dangerous part of London, a gruff gentleman takes pity on her and takes her into his home. But this gentleman seems to have a strange predilection for bodies...dead bodies. Is he a resurrectionist? Or is his interest much more mundane? And is he falling for Darcie as quickly as she is for him?

A wonderful Gothic mystery--compelling characters and a very original story line. A delightfully chilling read!!


Macbeth by William Shakespeare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are among the most compelling characters Shakespeare ever wrote. She seems heartless in her ambition; he seems almost weak in comparison. Yet as the play continues, Macbeth gains power and thrives on ambition, to the point of killing Macduff's entire family...after killing his best mate Banquo and trying to kill Banquo's son, Fleance. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth seems to wane in power, finally devolving into madness and eventual suicide.

I taught this play as a four-week high school Shakespeare class at Brave Writer, my second time doing so with the six plays I cycle through each spring. We had some of the most thought-provoking discussions I've ever enjoyed at Brave Writer about power, women's roles, masculinity, violence, ambition, etc. And of course, the role of the supernatural and fate in the actions of the play. I love discussing Shakespeare with teens; they come up with some of the most insightful and surprising observations--often that I didn't notice myself until a student pointed it out to me! I love collaborative learning!! :D

Along with Hamlet, I see Macbeth as being the best of the Shakespeare canon.

*  *  *  *  *

So I hope to post something besides book reviews next time...such as photos and thoughts about the U2 concert a couple of weeks ago, plus Michaelmas came and went with nary a whisper from me. And I've scribbled down some amazing quotations lately, too! 

Have a lovely week, everyone!! 

Reading happily with you, 

Fall Classes at Brave Writer

This school year marks 15 years of teaching and working at Brave Writer. Julie Sweeney Bogart started Brave Writer in January 2000, and I joined the Brave Writer team (of four other employees) in 2002.

Over the past few years, I've settled into a great schedule at Brave Writer; I'm teaching 48 weeks a year now, with some overlap of classes. I love teaching kids and families, mostly homeschoolers, via these online classes. I've written most of the materials I teach; the only class I teach that I haven't written is Groovy Grammar; the rest I've either overhauled and largely rewritten or have written from scratch.

So here are the classes, with dates and links, that I'll be teaching this fall at Brave Writer:

The Groovy Grammar Workshop: August 28-September 22 (4 weeks). This family workshop turns grammar on its head! Rather than relying on boring workbooks and grammar rules that no one can keep straight, we explore how words work together to create clarity and meaning. We "collect" words, play games with them, make up words by creating a "fictionary," and then explore how words work together in Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky." We conclude the class with writing our own Jabberwocky-style poem using nonsense words. Much family fun is in store in Groovy Grammar!!

The Shakespeare Family Workshop: August 28-September 29 (5 weeks). In this family workshop, we explore Shakespeare's life through a scavenger hunt, draw or create models of the Globe Theatre, and examine the language of Shakespeare's time. Then we'll have an informal study of Shakespeare's sonnets before we explore Shakespeare's plays, spending a week each on comedies (focusing on Much Ado About Nothing), histories (focusing on Richard III), and tragedies (focusing on Hamlet). So if you want a fun and extensive exploration of Shakespeare and his works, this family workshop is ideal!

The MLA Research Essay: September 25-November 3 (6 weeks). This class is intended for high school juniors and seniors only, with a small class size of only ten students to provide maximum teacher-student interaction. Using the college textbook The MLA Handbook, 8th Edition (2016), students will research and write a 5-7 page college-level persuasive research essay using the most recent format of the Modern Language Association (MLA). Students do not need to purchase the textbook; all posts will include materials from the text, and students may contact the teacher with additional questions. Students will finish this course with a college-level essay and much knowledge of how to do academic research.

Playing with Poetry Workshop: November 6-December 12 (5 weeks). This family workshop class focuses on writing many kinds of poetry: free verse, visual poetry, Japanese poetry, traditional rhymed verse, and alternative poetry forms. We'll also explore reading and analyzing poetry, and there are several fun optional activities such as song lyrics as poetry. This workshop is a wonderful way to introduce families to the fun and games of writing poetry, providing a solid foundation in poetry analysis and the history of poetic form. So much fun!!!

I'll be teaching the same courses in the spring in a slightly different order, with the addition of a high school literary analysis course on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. More on that class in December when I post the spring schedule!!

Fall registration began on Monday, July 31, so please enroll as soon as possible since all of our classes were full for the entire 2016-2017 school year!! Be inspired!! Write bravely!!

Writing with you,

Further Book Reviews!

Okay, this is the last of the book reviews I have written this fall. The problem is that once my MLA Research Essay class at Brave Writer progressed to grading first drafts around the first week of November, all tracking (much less reviewing!) of books ceased.

Thus, my great task for the first week of Christmastide (before January 1) is to catch up with at least marking which books I've read and perhaps remembering enough of each to review them. It's not easy when renewing so many books with the same characters (i.e., Pride and Prejudice variations and continuations), plus my mindset at the time was rather garbled since grading so many essays really robs one of brain power. My health also doesn't do well with remembering plots and characters as my shorter-term memory is affected by my medications.

So here are my "last batch" of book reviews from Goodreads until I catch up after Christmas. Enjoy!!


Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Over the years, I've read a good number of Anne Tyler's novels--at least a majority of them. Somehow the disconnect that her characters usually experience--a disconnect with other characters, with society, with "normalcy" (whatever that is!)--leaves me anxious, unsettled. Perhaps that is Tyler's goal. Or perhaps it's just my own peculiar response evoked by Tyler's spare style and unique perspectives.

I was thrilled to read that Tyler's latest novel, Vinegar Girl, is based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Tyler's Kate is a modern twenty-something girl who is disconnected from her brilliant yet absent-minded professor father because of the hours--days even--that he spends in his university lab. Kate is also disconnected from her teenage sister Bunny who is cute, adorable, beloved by all, but as selfish as the day is long. And Kate is also disconnected from herself; she works as a teacher's aide with preschoolers and kindergarteners yet can't relate well to these small humans, the staff, or the boy she is crushing on.

Then her father has a brilliant idea that could solve the pressing problem of losing his Russian lab assistant, and Kate is dragged into the world of Pyotr who sees America, life, and even Kate with an abandoned joyful enthusiasm. Will Kate remain a "vinegar girl," or will she soften and sweeten, perhaps even glimpsing the mere possibility of happiness?

In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, Hogarth Press has been releasing books by modern authors that are based on one of the Bard's plays. If this is an average sampling of the results of this book series, I can't wait to read more.




Pride and Persistence by Jeanna Ellsworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very intriguing twist on Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Pride and Persistence starts in Kent. When Darcy delivers his letter to Elizabeth on the morning after his disastrous proposal, he has a devastating accident and is carried, unconscious, to the parsonage. Unable to be moved because of the seriousness of his injuries, Elizabeth takes care of Darcy with a level head and also wishes to apologize--not for refusing his proposal but for the mean-spirited manner of her refusal.

But once Darcy finally awakens, something is wrong with him beyond his broken foot and head injury, and only Elizabeth seems able to deal effectively with him. And thus begins Darcy's persistence in winning Elizabeth--mind, heart, and soul.

Jenna Ellsworth is one of my favorite writers of Austen variations, and this one was as wonderful as the rest. My favorite is still To Refine Like Silver, but Pride and Persistence is definitely a delightful read, one I highly recommend.



Infamous Relations: A Pride And Prejudice "What If?" Tale by Catherine Bilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A wonderful follow-up to one of my favorite variations of Pride and Prejudice, Infamous Relations is the backwards follow-up to The Best of Relations in which Elizabeth's Aunt Gardiner was portrayed as a distant cousin to Mr. Darcy but one which he respected. However, in Infamous Relations, we see both Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine at their very worst, causing Elizabeth great harm.

I very much enjoyed this different story which is set mostly at Hunsford in Kent when Elizabeth visits Charlotte Collins. After Mr. Darcy's regrettable proposal, he seeks to give Elizabeth his letter of explanation, and there the story veers into an alternate reality in which we see the worst of both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's relations.

Definitely suspenseful, sometimes angsty, and an absolute page-turner, Infamous Relations is one of the most intriguing Pride and Prejudice "What If?" tales I've read.


A Lesson Hard Learned by Wendi Sotis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this variation of Austen's famed Pride and Prejudice, A Lesson Hard Learned starts just as Darcy and Elizabeth meet again in London after the debacle in Hunsford. But Darcy cannot stay to continue their awkward reunion; instead, he must travel to Virginia to bring back his cousin who was widowed while visiting her husband's family. Plus, her father, the Earl of Matlock, is dying, so Darcy must return his cousin to England as quickly as possible despite her marriage-minded machinations and some perilous events at sea.

While Darcy is away on this necessary family business, Elizabeth enjoys her trip to Derbyshire with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. In a moment of thoughtless enthusiasm, Elizabeth is injured at Matlock and is cared for by the Countess and Georgiana, both of whom have figured from Darcy's letters that he is in love with her. Due to the Earl's illness, Georgie removes Elizabeth to nearby Pemberley to recover from her head injury and broken ankle.

And then more events occur, but suffice it to say that Darcy is thrilled to find Elizabeth at Pemberley upon his return....

This is a lovely, well-researched, and rather exciting book that I read in just a couple of days despite much work on my proverbial plate. It's wonderfully written and well-paced--a delightful read!

I'm currently reading Ms. Sotis's All Hallows Eve which is even better than this one, so I think that I can safely recommend reading any or even all of her many variations of Pride and Prejudice!


Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon by Maria Grace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Okay, so it may look as though I read this variation of Austen's Pride and Prejudice in fewer that 24 hours, but that's not quite the case. Maria Grace has kindly posted the first several chapters, serial style, on the her own website Random Bits of Fascination as well as on Austen Variations, so I had a head start and took off flying yesterday afternoon, finishing this morning.

The dragonlore in this first novel of Maria Grace's Jane Austen's Dragons series, Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon is incredible. I felt as if I stepped into a completely different Austenesque reality than usual, and I was taken in well before the end of the first chapter. Some people can hear dragons, and Elizabeth and Mary are the only of Mr. Bennet's daughters thus gifted. Mr. Bennet, the Blue Order's Historian, is well-versed in dragonlore, and he is also the Keeper of Longbourn, the ancestral dragon.

But news of a stolen dragon egg reaches Mr. Bennet, and he and his dragon-hearing daughters are commanded by the Order to assist in finding the missing egg before it hatches or else the centuries-old treaty between human beings and dragonkind would be in serious jeopardy. And the owner of the stolen egg is an abrasive fellow named Fitzwilliam Darcy....

I won't say any more because I don't want to ruin the plot; the information given here is basically from the first chapter only. ;)

This book was officially released yesterday, and, as I had posted on the site, "I gobbled up the book as quickly as Longbourn consumes sheep!"

I've been a longtime fan of everything Maria Grace writes, starting with her work posted on FanFiction.net and now through her own website as well as via Austen Variations, and this book is definitely my very favorite of the bunch!

My only regret is how long I'll have to wait to see how the story continues in Volume 2 of this series. (Write fast, Maria!! Please????)

I rarely give 5's to books other than classics and have done so for fewer than a dozen of the over 300 Austen variations I've read, but this book would get a 6 from me if it were possible! Brilliant, brilliant work!!

View all my reviews


Thank you for reading my reviews, and I hope that you will have a wonderfully bookish 2017 ahead! I will post my completed booklist (and movie list) for 2016 on the last day of the year, as always.

With warmest holy-day regards,

The Fourth Week After Trinity and Quote of the Week

David Tennant as Hamlet on a Royal Mail stamp to honor the 50th anniversary of the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) in Stratford-on-Avon (Shakespeare's "hometown")

As we continue through Ordinary Time, I thought I would take the time each week to post the new Collect from the Book of Common Prayer 2011 along with the Sunday readings. In addition, I'll include the new Quotation of the Week.

Every week I change these two elements in the sidebar, but I was thinking that I would return to my old habit of posting them each Sunday here in the blog itself.

I plan to be posting a ton more in the blog once I finish this wacky school year. I'm still plugging away on the Literary Analysis: Hamlet class at Brave Writer; in fact, we have passed 1300 posts for this class, almost all of which I have either written or have responded to thought-by-thought.  And then I have to grade the MLA Research Essays for my co-op Expository Essay course at Heritage Christian School's co-op Class Days at East County 2. With final grades for homeschooling during the second semester of the 2016-2016 school year due this Friday, June 24, I have to get those MLA essays graded and returned to my students plus complete B's report card as well. Once Hamlet and homeschooling (Class Days and our own schooling) are done, I'll have time to write, read, and blog. And sleeeeeeep. Oh, how I neeeeeed sleeeeeeeep right now with my average bedtime at 3:00 AM.

I have so many things to share with you all: finishing my final Class Day course, visiting the First Folio exhibit at the San Diego Public Library as part of Shakespeare 400, seeing Alice Through the Looking Glass, Julie's (founder and owner of Brave Writer) interview this week with Peter Elbow, and so much more. So once I'm done being a teacher (until July 5 when my Fan Fiction course at Brave Writer begins--it's full and closed already!), I'll get to all of these wonderful things.

In the meantime, with my brain thoroughly Hamletted (yes, it's a word, says me!), I'll share the Collect and Quotation for this week....

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
THE COLLECT:
O GOD, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply your mercy upon us, so that with you as our ruler and guide, we may pass through all that is temporal and not lose the eternal; Grant this, heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and rules, one God, forever and ever. Amen. (References: Ecclesiastes 11.3; Matthew 6.21; Hebrews 6.18-20)

THE READINGS:

Romans 8.18-23; Luke 6.36-42; Psalm 27.1-7; Psalm 9.9-12; Sirach 27.4-7

And the Quotation of the Week, taken from my Quotation Journal which I've been keeping for 15 years this summer....

"The Christian life is one of incarnate spiritual pluck."
~Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, May 20

Wishing you all a blessed Sabbath and a wonderful week ahead! I'll be hanging out with Hamlet for the first part of the week, and then I'll be tackling those lofty and long MLA Research Essays, so I'll be quite occupied....

Soli Deo Gloria,