The business of her life was to get her daughters married its solace was visiting and news." Indeed, had this been Austen's previous novel, Sense and Sensibility, there probably wouldn't be anything more to be said, since that story, at least in its early sections, is reassuringly direct and decided in its narratorial judgments. When she was discontented she fancied herself nervous. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. After all, Austen's narrator signs off her beautifully pitched dramatic exposition of Elizabeth's parents with something that sounds like a categorical declaration: "Her mind was less difficult to develope. Read the opening chapter of Pride and Prejudice, and you might feel that there's nothing more to be said about Mrs Bennet.
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George Atherton, who was courting her mother, became more interested in her daughter, Gertrude and they eloped in 1876 to live on his estate with his domineering Chilean mother, in what became Atherton, California. Gertrude Franklin Horn was raised by her maternal grandfather, who insisted she be well read, after her parents separated when she was two. Her novels and stories often feature strong female characters forging independent lives.Ītherton's gothic horror story, The Striding Place is a standout to be enjoyed by all short story readers. That novel's story line follows an aging middle-aged woman turned young again by a miraculous glandular therapy. She is best known for a series of novels based in California including her 1923 work Black Oxen, which was made into a silent film. Pen Name: Gertrude Atherton, Frank Lin Born: OctoDied: June 14, 1948Ī prolific American novelist, short story author and early feminist, Gertrude Atherton (1857 - 1948) cut a strong and often controversial figure as she made her way in California and in the literary world. The family loves having Julie around, and she forms a tight friendship with middle brother Matt, a self-proclaimed geek studying at MIT who lives at home and seems to be Celeste’s main caretaker. When it turns out that there simply are no affordable apartments to be had and the dorms are all full, Julie’s temporary refuge turns into a permanent arrangement for the year. Flat Finn sits at the dinner table with the family, comes in the car to drive Celeste to and from school, and watches over Celeste when she sleeps at night. Flat Finn looks just like real Finn, the absent oldest brother who, Julie is told, is busy traveling the world on a non-stop adventure combining volunteer work and thrill-seeking. Odd? You bet… especially the life-size cardboard cut-out that the youngest, 13-year-old Celeste, takes with her wherever she goes. Julie is welcomed into their large home, and despite the family’s oddities, finds it warm and comfortable. Left on the sidewalk with all of her suitcases and no place to go, Julie is taken in by the family of her mother’s college roommate, although the two have been out of touch for years. The apartment she’s rented (and paid for via cashier’s check - not smart) doesn’t exist… although there is a bustling burrito place at the same address. When Julie arrives in Boston from small-town Ohio to start her college adventure, she’s in for a rude awakening. In Flat-Out Love, college freshman Julie learns an important life lesson: Never rent an apartment sight-unseen via Craigslist. As a great comedy writer, Stoppard manages this plot – or lack of it – with finesse. With only small appearances in Shakespeare’s play, in Stoppard’s version, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves at a loose end for much of the time, left to hang around with little idea of what exactly is going on. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern suffer from a common post-modern literary condition the unsettling suspicion that they are both actually fictional. But that would only scratch the metaphorical surface. "We do on stage the things that are supposed to happen off." Tom Stoppard’s most famous play is exactly that following two minor characters from Hamlet, Stoppard’s 1966 play could be described as a behind-the-scenes peek at the most dodgy Danish court in literature. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, by Tom Stoppard This shit-encrusted tale of corruption and despair belongs to a tradition of post-colonial African literature that is unflinchingly critical of national politics. He lived in Dakar, Senegal, in the 1980s and taught at Amherst and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In the 1970s, he worked as a teacher in East Africa, at the College of National Education, Chang'ombe, Tanzania, and at the National University of Lesotho. From 1968-1970, Armah studied at Columbia University, obtaining his MFA in creative writing. In 1964, Armah returned to Ghana, where he was a scriptwriter for Ghana Television and later taught English at the Navrongo School.īetween 19, he was editor of Jeune Afrique magazine in Paris. Armah then moved to Algeria and worked as a translator for the magazine Révolution Africaine. After graduating, he entered Harvard University, receiving a degree in sociology. Born to Fante-speaking parents, with his father's side Armah descending from a royal family in the Ga tribe in the port city of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, Armah, having attended the renowned Achimota School, left Ghana in 1959 to attend Groton School in Groton, MA. Shakti Butler, president of World Trust and director of Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible White Fragility is an essential tool toward authentic dialogue and action. “As a woman of color, I find hope in this book because of its potential to disrupt the patterns and relationships that have emerged out of long-standing colonial principles and beliefs. “A vital, necessary, and beautiful book, a bracing call to white folk everywhere to see their whiteness for what it is and to seize the opportunity to make things better now.” In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). ‘ Fit? The Dean looks like a man who’s swallered a bed!’ ‘I would say they are supremely fit, myself.’ ‘That would be the senior masters, Master,’ said the Bursar. ‘I went into the Uncommon Room this morning, and it was full of chaps snoring!’ Everyone had got so accustomed to him it was hard to remember a time when the Library was not run by a yellow-fanged ape with the strength of three men. There was always this trouble with the Librarian. In fact he shouted at birds, and what he normally shouted was ‘Winged you, yer bastard!’ (MP)īy and large, the only skill the alchemists of Ankh-Morpork had discovered so far was the ability to turn gold into less gold. …Ridcully the Brown did speak to the birds. All roads lead away from Ankh-Morpork, but sometimes people just walk along them the wrong way. There’s a saying that all roads lead to Ankh-Morpork, greatest of Discworld cities.Īt least there’s a saying that there’s a saying that all roads lead to Ankh-Morpork.Īnd it’s wrong. The Discworld is as unreal as it is possible to be while still being just real enough to exist. Other land-rulers enjoy the same link of the soul to their land. Magic of various kinds plays an important role in The Riddle-Master of Hed: Morgon himself, being a land-ruler, is tied intuitively to the land and knows it intimately, deeply. While in the nature of the plot people are not always what they seem, the distinctions of morality remain clear throughout. His motives are not selfish and he is a respectful character, bearing himself in the presence of both lord and lady with a grace you don’t often find in literature today. Morgon, the best “reluctant hero” I have ever seen, is justifiably reticent to pursue the riddles that surround him and wants only to return to his farming island and see to the duties and responsibilities that belong to him. What is the purpose of the three stars borne by Morgon, Prince of Hed?įor a young adult fantasy I was impressed by the level of morality in this book. Unanswered riddles are nagging the mind of everyone in the realm, triggering a dangerous series of equally puzzling events: who won the Lord of Peven’s crown? who were the Earth-Masters and what destroyed them? who is instigating the mysterious uprisings? what happened to the wizards and their academy at Lungold? who are the shape-changers and why are they trying to kill a prince from Hed? why is the High One doing nothing about it? McKillipĪ rich, dangerous fantasy that will keep you turning pages. Earth has been co-opted by a man-created mental virus called "The One True", which is also called a "meme", and Barnes explains why it is called such. Although Teri is a teenager, this is NOT a book aimed at the 10-16 year old crowd. The Sky So Big And Black is set in the same universe as Candle and Kaleidoscope Century but by no stretch of the imagination is a sequel. There is much extremely well done foreshadowing, and we get deeper into the hearts and minds of both Teri-Mel, and the Shrink. Why clunky? Because for some reason there is this framing story told from the point of view of a police "shrink" who is reviewing the tapes made by one Terpsicore Melpomene Murray, starting from when she is 17, just before she goes in for her FA, "Full Adult" test.Īs one delves into the book, what appeared on the surface as a lighthearted "coming-of-age" romp set on Mars slowly moves deeper into darkness. When I first started reading The Sky So Big And Black I thought it was going to be a somewhat clunkily done Heinlein juvenile clone. I don't care if "the mantle of Heinlein" falls on John Barnes I just want him to write more good fiction. John Barnes is another of the "Children of Heinlein". “I was just looking for a time and place in which to set a historical novel because I wanted to practise writing one. The leap from academic journals to time-travel in the Highlands is not as huge as you’d imagine.Īt a recent Outlander fan retreat held in Seattle, Gabaldon told me how she moved from zoology and computer science to the Battle of Culloden. It paid the bills, but didn’t ignite her soul like writing fiction, which she’d wanted to do since childhood. Until that point, she had written primarily non-fiction, like a 400-page dissertation on nest site selection of the Pinyon Jay, and technical articles in Science Software Quarterly, a journal she founded in 1984 while an assistant professor at Arizona State University. Years ago, when Diana Gabaldon was looking for an idea, she couldn’t resist the image of a kilted Scotsman on an episode of the popular television series. Subscribe to our magazine for more great content Diana Gabaldon reveals the inspiration behind her Outlander series… |