Title: A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness and a Trove of Letters Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression
Author: Ted Gup
Edition: Penguin Press, 2010
Setting: USA, Great Depression
Genre: Nonfiction
Just before Christmas in 1933, an pseudonymous benefactor placed an ad in a Canton, Ohio newspaper offering a small amount of money to families suffering because of the Great Depression. The author is the grandson of that benefactor, Sam Stone, and this is both a family history and a history of life during hard times. The hard times are indeed hard: breadwinners have been out of work for years, families are hungry, children go barefoot all year because shoes are a luxury their parents can't afford, people die for lack of medical care because they can't pay bills, businesses go bankrupt, renters are evicted and homeowners lose their homes, depositors lose their life savings in bank failures, parents surrender their children to orphanages because they can't feed them. The author uses the letters his grandfather received to illustrate just what ordinary people went through trying to survive the Great Depression. These letters are sad, inspiring, moving, tear-jerking - sometimes all in the same letter. They remind us of the difference a social safety net makes.
The family history, oddly enough is somewhat less interesting, partly because it is spread throughout the book and loses the impact when told that way. It is an interesting history, but the connection between Sam's generous act and his life history seems rather tenuous to me. Still, a worthwhile book, and an important history lesson.
Title: Nurse in Blue
Author: Gladys Taber
Edition: Triangle Books, 1944
Setting: USA during WWII
Genre: Women's Fiction
Gladys Taber was a prolific American mid-century writer who wrote a number of interesting books about her country home, Stillmeadow. She's best known for those books, but she also wrote novels, of which Nurse in Blue is one. Written during World War II, its heroine, Janet, leaves her midwestern home, nursing job, and fiance, Philip, to become a Navy nurse in New York City. Will Janet give up her dream of helping win the war with her nursing skills to go back to the midwest as Philip's (bored) wife? Will she end up with the strong and silent type she meets in New York, Chris (oh, please - NO)? Will she marry someone else? The question of will she follow her skills, education, and abilities and have a career doesn't really arise - this was written in 1942-43, and that option is apparently well, not an option. The writing is fresh and lively, the character of Janet and her friend Francesca, believable, the men less so. The ending is unbelievably hurried. But if you want to catch the flavor of what women were reading in the war years, this is probably a good example.
Title: Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Author: Caroline Fraser
Edition: Metropolitan Books, 2017
Setting: American West
Genre: Non Fiction
Never out of print, made into a television show, Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books are a well-known part of American culture. If you've read "Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Biography" you may not think "Prairie Fires" would have anything left to tell. But it does, very much so. Caroline Fraser has done a tremendous amount of research in order to provide historical context for Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and writing.
And there's so much here you've never read before, or perhaps you've read something in Wilder's books or about her life, but not really understood the ramifications of it. I, as an example, never realized how truly poor the Wilder family was, nor how dependent they were on others for the betterment of their lives. Fraser points out how much the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" philosophy stated in Wilder's books is in contrast to all the help they got: free land from the government, clothing from missionary barrels, help from friends and neighbors. And Pa, the upstanding citizen? Well, there was that midnight flight from the debts he owed in Iowa. Funny how that never made it into the books. Which brings me to another excellent aspect of Fraser's work: the actual writing of Wilder's books. The tug of war between daughter (and oh, my! What a difficult and unlikable person she was!) and mother over what to write and how to present Laura's pioneer experiences is examined in depth. That's quite a fascinating story.
While discussing difficult and hard truths, Fraser never loses respect for Wilder's work and shows great understanding of her times and character. If you'd like to read a well-researched, very accessible book that not only puts Wilder's life and work in historical context and perspective, but also let's you come as close to the real Laura as you'll ever get, this is that book. Highly recommended.
I received a copy from the publisher as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.
Title:The Way to London
Author: Alix Rickloff
Edition: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2017
Setting: WWII Britain and Singapore
Genre: Historical Fiction
I enjoyed reading this interesting if a bit predictable book. This work
of historical fiction is set in WWII; it begins Singapore and ends in
London with a road trip along the way (as the title alludes to). Lucy is
an unhappy, rebellious, spoiled young woman - unhappy and rebellious
for good reasons, but still. She is sent away from Singapore to
relatives in Cornwall by her truly awful mother (the relatives and the
country house in Cornwall will be familiar to readers of Alix Rickloff's
"Secrets of Nanreath Hall"). In Singapore she meets a young man who is
also headed to Britain. Once Lucy gets to Cornwall the story really
begins, as Lucy gets involved with a young evacuee, Bill who is
miserable in his foster parents' home. The two of them end up on a
journey to London to find Bill's mother (and a symbolic journey to find
love). Bill provides amusement in the novel; I enjoyed that character
more than any other. The young man joins Lucy and Bill and there is a
satisfying end for all. As I say, a bit predictable, but still quite
enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a
well-written and researched WWII novel that is somewhat lighter in tone
than most in that category. I received a copy through the Early
Reviewers Giveaway at Library Thing.
Title: The Last Lost Girl
Author: Maria Hoey
Edition: Poolbeg Crimson; July, 2017
Setting: Ireland, 1960s
Genre: Mystery
This is the story of an Irish family (mother, father, and three sisters) whose lives change forever in the summer of 1976. A dual timeline story, it follows the three girls in 1976 as the summer progresses toward the social event the eldest (Lilly) looks forward to. Lilly is 15 and pushing boundaries. Gayle, the middle daughter desperately seeks approval from everyone. Jacqueline, the youngest, spies on her sisters. Dad drinks more than he should, and the mother has aspirations to a better life. All of this leads toward a family tragedy that Jacqueline tries to unravel as an adult. This was a very well-written book - the sisters' characters are sharply defined as early as the first chapter - with lovely prose. The story kept my attention; I burned through it over a weekend. I didn't find the characters unlikeable; I found them to be deeply human with the strengths and faults so many people have. I received a copy from the publisher.
Title: The Marriage Bureau
Author: Penrose Halson
Edition: HarperCollins Publisher, May 2017
Setting: Britain
Genre: Non-Fiction
This non-fiction book was a very enjoyable read. It's the story of two
friends who started a marriage bureau in London just before the outbreak
of WWII. Using material from a company archive (and how fortunate that
these materials had been saved!), the author presents matchmaking
stories that are funny, sad, touching, and occasionally outrageous or
heartrending. The ins and outs of how the matchmakers dealt with their
clients - and what a variety of clients they were - is fascinating. And
the matchmakers themselves were quite unusual characters too. If you
enjoyed Call the Midwife or Home Fires, this is the book for you. I
received a copy from the publisher.
