Elisabeth Grace Foley

Historical Fiction Author

Summer Reading, So Far

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It happens to be exactly two months since I posted my summer reading list on this blog, so I thought I’d share an update on my progress. These are the books I’ve read so far (with a link to my review where there is one):

Lavender and Old Lace by Myrtle Reed
Jim Waring of Sonora-Town by Henry Herbert Knibbs
The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier
Kathleen by Christopher Morley
When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Casebook of Monsieur Jonquelle, Prefect of Police of Paris by Melville Davisson Post
Son of a Hundred Kings by Thomas B. Costain
Elsie: Adventures of an Arizona Schoolteacher 1913-1916 by Barbara Anne Waite
Fool’s Goal by B.M. Bower
Behold, Here’s Poison by Georgette Heyer
The Divine Fire by May Sinclair
The Turmoil by Booth Tarkington

A Summer Day by Charles Louis Baugniet

I requested a couple titles that I was looking forward to the most—High Rising by Angela Thirkell and Clearing Weather by Cornelia Meigs—at the library way back in June, but interlibrary loan hasn’t found them yet. And I’m trying to figure out the best way to get a readable file of Silverwood by Margaret Junkin Preston onto my Kindle, since it’s only available on Google Ebooks and Internet Archive. So that leaves me with just The Highgrader by William MacLeod Raine and The Lookout Man by B.M. Bower.

But the funny thing about me is…I don’t just stick to my reading lists. I always end up reading other books in between. So since I posted that list in June, I’ve also read these:

Kilmeny of the Orchard by L.M. Montgomery
Letters On an Elk Hunt by Elinore Pruit Stewart
Starr, of the Desert by B.M. Bower
Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers
The Daffodil Mystery by Edgar Wallace
Ladies in Waiting by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Filigree Ball by Anna Katharine Green
The Flirt by Booth Tarkington
Mother Carey’s Chickens by Kate Douglas Wiggin

My favorites out of these lists were Elsie, Fool’s Goal, Letters On an Elk Hunt, Kathleen, The Glass-Blowers and both the Tarkingtons. Least favorite goes to The Daffodil Mystery (closely followed by Behold, Here’s Poison, which I described to my mother as “three-quarters squabbling family and one-quarter detection.”).

How’s your summer reading going? Have you read any of the books I mentioned here?

Top Ten Tuesday: Classic Adventure Novels

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I was feeling in the mood for a blog meme of some sort, so I dropped by The Broke and the Bookish to see what was on the menu for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday. Turns out that this week is a “freebie,” where everyone picks their own theme. So I decided to shine the spotlight on an old favorite genre of mine—classic novels of adventure! The big, thick, swashbuckling sort, with colorful historical settings, a large cast of characters and plenty of battles and excitement. So without further ado, here’s my top ten in the order of favorites:

Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley
If I had to pick just one favorite novel, it would probably be this one. A tale of English explorers in the Elizabethan era, its multifaceted storyline, memorable characters and sparkling dialogue are just as good every time I re-read it.
The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter
I don’t know how close this book is to to the actual exploits of William Wallace and Robert Bruce, but it sure is a good story. Capturing of castles, a treacherous countess, a heroine with an unrequited love, and lots more.
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
And more of the same. The best thing about a big thick novel is the way the various storylines intertwine and supporting characters turn up again in unexpected places. I loved the appearance by Robin Hood, and the comic relief provided by Athelstane, Wamba and Friar Tuck.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The very definition of the classic adventure story! This was a family read-aloud of ours years ago, and everyone’s attention was riveted from start to finish.

Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne
Verne is mainly known for his science fiction, but this is my favorite of his books. Michael Strogoff, the courier of the Czar, must make a perilous trek across Russia during a Tartar rebellion with an important message. Again, there’s some great comic relief from a pair of rival newspaper correspondents who turn up every now and then along the way.
The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This one follows a young English squire and his companions as they travel to France and Spain with a company of archers to fight in the Hundred Years’ War—with battles at sea, jousting, the siege of a castle, and other adventures along the way. The author of Sherlock Holmes knew how to write a good historical adventure too.

The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson

Set during the Wars of the Roses, a tale involving a villainous guardian, a mysterious outlaw band bent on avenging wrongs, and changing of sides between York and Lancaster.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
I’ve never viewed this one as typical Dickens. It’s a lot more exciting, and has a somewhat more focused plot than his other sprawling novels. I think perhaps it’s the story’s centering around a particular historical event in the French Revolution that makes the difference.
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

A small group of characters traveling through forests thick with hostile Indians during the French and Indian War, the search for the colonel’s kidnapped daughters…and incidentally, I guess the presence of David Gamut proves that comic relief is an essential ingredient in an adventure story.

Robin Hood by Paul Creswick
This version of Robin Hood is interesting because it takes a different track than the most familiar legends—an original twist on the story of how he became an outlaw, with some newly invented characters and different interpretations of others.
Have you read any of these? What are your favorite classic adventure novels?

Summer Reading

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I’ve been trying to figure out a strategy for getting all my library summer reads in one trip. It almost never works, for no two requested books ever take the same amount of time to come in. Add interlibrary requests to the mix and you’re in still deeper waters—and I have a knack for choosing hard-to-find books.

Anyway, this is what’s on my reading list for this summer. Only about half-a-dozen are library books, fortunately; the rest are on my Kindle:

Lavender and Old Lace by Myrtle Reed
Jim Waring of Sonora-Town by Henry Herbert Knibbs
Elsie: Adventures of an Arizona Schoolteacher 1913-1916 by Barbara Anne Waite
Fool’s Goal by B.M. Bower
High Rising by Angela Thirkell
Clearing Weather by Cornelia Meigs
The Divine Fire by May Sinclair
Behold, Here’s Poison by Georgette Heyer
The Highgrader by William MacLeod Raine
The Lookout Man by B.M. Bower
Son of a Hundred Kings by Thomas B. Costain
The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier
Kathleen by Christopher Morley
The Casebook of Monsieur Jonquelle, Prefect of Police of Paris by Melville Davisson Post
When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Silverwood by Margaret Junkin Preston
The Turmoil by Booth Tarkington

As you can see, I’ve got a little bit of everything on there! What’s on your summer reading list?