Jane Austen Spinoffs

September 19, 2016September 9, 2016 / Kaitlin / Leave a comment

If one way to measure the popularity of an author is to note the number of spinoffs that his or her work has created, then Jane Austen is high on the popularity list!

Longbourn by Jo Baker
This is the story of Sarah, the Bennet’s housemaid in Pride and Prejudice, as she serves in their household while the events of the classic unfold. However, the downstairs is just as eventful as the upstairs, especially when a new footman arrives.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
This is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice during a zombie apocalypse. Elizabeth Bennett is fighting off the zombie infestation after a plague has settled on the village. However, she also finds herself fighting Mr. Darcy after his arrival.

Jane Austen and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron
This is the first book in a mystery series about Jane Austen as a detective. In this book, Jane’s friend Isobel is newly wed to a man who is many years her senior. Then, during the night, her new husband dies. Soon after his death, Isobel’s maid accuses Isobel of murdering her husband and committing adultery with her late husband’s nephew.

An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan
This is the story of Pride and Prejudice, told from the point of view of Fitzwilliam Darcy. This is the book to read if you wish to know more about the mysterious man and his view of the events in the classic novel.

The Mysterious Death of Miss Jane Austen by Lindsay Ashford
Anne Sharp was Jane Austen’s governess. Ever since Jane’s death twenty-six years earlier, Anne has held onto a lock of Jane’s hair. However, Anne is following up on a suspicion that she has carried with her all this time. Jane may have been murdered, and the lock of hair may prove it.

The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen by Syrie James
Samantha McDonough finds a letter that laments a missing manuscript at an estate in Devonshire. The author of both the letter and the manuscript is thought to be none other than Jane Austen. All that that Samantha needs to do is figure out a way of working with Anthony Whitaker, the handsome owner of the estate.

Emma: A Modern Retelling by Alexander McCall Smith
As the title describes, this is the modern version of the classic novel about a young woman who interferes in the lives of those around her. Fresh from college, Emma is kept busy by running her own business, caring for her father, and playing matchmaker.

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
This is a modern retelling of Northanger Abbey. Cat Morland, who loves to read novels, constantly fantasizes about experiencing adventures. So, when she travels to Edinburgh to attend a festival, she begins to wonder about the mysterious Northanger Abbey and its seemingly perfect residents, one of whom is very handsome.

All’s Faire in Fall

September 1, 2016August 18, 2016 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

bristol-Renaissance-Faire Fall is here again, and with it comes Fair season – Church Fairs, Grange Fairs, State Fairs, Harvest Festivals, and perhaps the most fun of all – The Renaissance Faire.
Renaissance Faires are newer than you think. The first official “Renaissance Faire” traces back to Los Angeles in 1963, when a school teacher named Phyllis Patterson put one on for a weekend fundraiser for radio station KPFK, and more than 8,000 people showed up. A fall staple was born (because, let’s face it, NO ONE wants to be buried under that many yards of wool, satin, and leather in the middle of July).

Why the Renaissance? Why not Roman Bacchanalias with chariot races? Why not the Dark Ages? Why not Pompeiian pageants? Celebrating the gruesome deaths of a city of people might be just a tad morbid. The Dark Ages were – well, Dark. We don’t know much about them, because following the fall of Rome civilization was illiterate, spread out, and little was going on beyond warfare and survival. And Rome? Rome certainly had a lot going for it, but not many speak Latin anymore, and togas, while simple and fun for frat parties, just don’t have the suave flair of swashbuckling boots, rapiers, and villains’ pointed beards and mustaches. The Renaissance has far more possibilities.

Rising up out of the depths of the Black Plague, the Renaissance means, literally, a rebirth. Disenchanted with a church that did not save them from the plague, men turned to science to keep them safe, resulting in great advancements in learning, science, art, music, and warfare. Stretching from 1300 to 1600, the Renaissance saw the rise of DaVinci, of Galileo, Columbus, Martin Luther, the printing press, Magellan, Henry VIII, William Harvey, the advent of gunpowder, muskets, and the waning of armor and swords. Most Renaissance Faires throw in the likes of Robin Hood (earliest tales date to 1377), and sometimes eve jeffpirate n King Arthur, who, although Malory’s history of Le Morte D’Artur is published in 1470, the story from which The Once and Future King is taken, is believed to have lived, if he’s not merely legend, sometime between 600 and 800. Herein lie the tales of valor, not long before the Three Musketeers, the tales of actual pirates Barbossa and William Kyd, of Dutch corsairs and privateers, and let’s not forget Shakespeare (though Shakespeare’s plays, though written and performed around 1600, were often taken from history much older: King MacBeth actually lived in the 1000’s). That’s a lot of romanticized history to be able to play with, a lot of possibilities for actors to delve into. Hence Renaissance Faires are full of LARPers (live-action role players) and SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism, hard-core medieval recreationists) members running about. Your inner Dragon Master can run amok, and no one will ever know.

unspecified So pull on your hose, strap on your broadsword, lace your corset, and get ready for an imaginative adventure back in time, and if you’re not careful, you just might learn something. Faires can offer a diversity of activities such as Birds of Prey shows, sword forging, glass blowing, theater, jousting, live chess tournaments, musicians, and more, as well as authentic foods, drink, clothing, crafts, and entertainments. Check out the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, or if you like a drive, try the larger ones like King Richard’s Faire in Massachusetts, or my favorite, The New York Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo, New York. They’re worth the trip! For a more in-depth experience, check these great books out as well:

Classic Spinoffs

August 29, 2016August 15, 2016 / Kaitlin / Leave a comment

Have you read any classic books? Even if you haven’t, you can still enjoy the books on this list. These are inspired by classics as they tell the stories of supporting characters, are prequels or sequels to the classic stories, or even retell the classics themselves. Read them all!

Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike
This prequel to Hamlet tells the story of Gertrude Queen of Denmark before the action of Shakespeare’s Hamlet begins. Updike brings to life Gertrude’s girlhood as the daughter of King Rorik, her arranged marriage to the man who becomes King Hamlet, and her middle-aged affair with her husband’s younger brother.

Madame Bovary’s Daughter by Linda Urbach
This continuation of Flaubert’s classic Madame Bovary finds twelve-year-old Berthe cast off by society in the aftermath of her mother’s suicide and sent to live with her impoverished grandmother, from where she eventually rises through the ranks of Charles Worth’s famed fashion empire.

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, or, On the Segregation of the Queen by Laurie R. King
In 1914, a young woman named Mary Russell meets a retired beekeeper on the Sussex Downs. His name is Sherlock Holmes. The Great Detective is no fool, and can spot a fellow intellect even in a fifteen-year-old woman. So, at first informally, then consciously, he takes Mary as his apprentice.

Juliet’s Nurse by Lois Leveen
A new telling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, from the perspective of Juliet’s nurse. In Verona, a city ravaged by plague and political rivalries, a mother mourning the death of her day-old infant enters the household of the powerful Cappelletti family to become the wet-nurse to their newborn baby. As she serves her beloved Juliet over the next fourteen years, the nurse learns the Cappelletti’s darkest secrets.

Ruth’s Journey by Donald McCaig
A prequel to one of the most beloved and bestselling novels of all time, Gone with the Wind. The critically acclaimed author of Rhett Butler’s People magnificently recounts the life of Mammy, one of literature’s greatest supporting characters, from her days as a slave girl to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Revenge by Stephen Fry
This brilliant recasting of the classic story The Count of Monte Cristo centers on Ned Maddstone, a happy, charismatic, Oxford-bound seventeen-year-old whose rosy future is virtually pre-ordained. Handsome, confident, and talented, newly in love with bright, beautiful Portia, his father an influential MP, Ned leads a charmed life. But privilege makes him an easy target for envy, and in the course of one day Ned’s destiny is forever altered.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
A woman discovers that the past of her family is connected to the stories of Vlad the Impaler, the man who inspired Dracula and must decide whether to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive.

Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son
This is a retelling of Frankenstein set in New Orleans. In the 19th century, Dr. Victor Frankenstein brought his first creation to life, but a horrible turn of events forced him to abandon his creation and fall away from the public eye. Now, two centuries later, a serial killer is on the loose in New Orleans, and he’s salvaging body parts from each of his victims, as if he’s trying to create the perfect person. But the two detectives assigned to the case are about to discover that something far more sinister is going on…

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys brings into the light one of fiction’s most mysterious characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Set in the Caribbean, its heroine is Antoinette Cosway, a sensual and protected young woman who is sold into marriage to the prideful Rochester. In this best-selling novel, Rhys portrays a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind.

Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene
When Father Quixote, a local priest of the Spanish village of El Toboso who claims ancestry to Cervantes’ fictional Don Quixote, is elevated to the rank of monsignor through a clerical error, he sets out on a journey to Madrid to purchase purple socks appropriate to his new station. Accompanying him on his mission is his best friend, Sancho, the Communist ex-mayor of the village who argues politics and religion with Quixote and rescues him from the various troubles his innocence lands him in along the way.

There are many, many more books that are inspired by the classics. Sometimes even classics are inspired by other classics! What are your favorite classic spinoffs?

New Fiction Coming Soon! July/August 2016

July 7, 2016June 1, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

coming soon

Want a little heads up on when your favorite author is publishing a new book? Here are some of the new fiction hardcover books coming out in July and August. Clicking on the title will bring you to our catalog where you can place a hold if you’d like.

JULY

Andrews, V.C. – Whitefern – The long-awaited sequel to My Sweet Audrina, one of V.C. Andrews’s strangest, most beloved books—and now a Lifetime movie! Whitefern swallowed Audrina’s childhood—and now the sprawling Victorian mansion threatens her adult life too.

Atkins, Ace – The Innocents – A former high school cheerleader is found walking a back road completely engulfed in flames.

Fairstein, Linda – Killer Look – When murder rocks New York City’s Fashion Week, Alex Cooper along with Detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace, must reveal the grime beneath the glitz to expose the culprit—unless a wolf in model’s clothing gets to them first.

Green, Jane – Falling – Eight years ago, Emma Montague left behind the strict confines—and rather dull boyfriend—of her upper-crust English life and moved to New York City, where she immediately found success in finance. But her soulless, cutthroat, all-consuming job was another life she didn’t want.

Hambly, Barbara – Drinking Gourd – Following the murder of a chief ‘conductor’ of the Underground Railroad, Jubal Cain, the coordinator of the entire Railroad system in Mississippi, is accused of the crime. It’s up to Benjamin January to step in and find the true killer – before their covers are blown.

Johansen, Iris – Night and Day – Protecting Cara Delaney from the enemies who want her dead leads Eve to be their target. It will take everything she has to rescue Cara, and doing so will put that which is dearest to her at risk.

Lindsey, Johanna – Make Me Love You – A sparkling, passionate tale of an earl’s daughter who must convince a mysterious viscount to marry her and end his vendetta against her brother.

Lovesey, Peter – Another One Goes Tonight – Two police officers are about to head home after a long night shift when they receive one last call: a suspicious nude person has been spotted. En route to the call, the patrol car spins off the road, killing one of the exhausted cops instantly and leaving the other in critical condition.

Mccall Smith, Alexander – Chance Developments – While gathering material for a photography book about Edinburgh, Alexander McCall Smith found himself inspired to create stories about the people captured in a number of particularly striking photos.

Pearson, Ridley – White Bone – When ex–military contractor John Knox receives a text from partner Grace Chu warning that she fears her cover may have been blown while on assignment, he jumps into action.

Rose, M. J. – The Secret Language of Stones – As World War I rages and the Romanov dynasty reaches its sudden, brutal end, a young jewelry maker discovers love, passion, and her own healing powers in this rich and romantic ghost story.

Rosenfelt, David – Outfoxed – Lately, Defense lawyer Andy Carpenter has been involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs, to make them more adoptable, benefiting both the dogs and the prisoners.

Steel, Danielle – Magic – A tale set against a backdrop of the glamorous annual White Dinners in Paris traces the experiences of longtime participant Jean-Philippe Dumas, who reflects on friendship, love and magical possibilities on a life-changing night.

Wood, Barbara – Land of the Afternoon Sun – The story of a woman finding her own personality and strength in the West against a breathtaking desert landscape that changes constantly and shows its deadly side in poisonous snakes, flash floods and sand storms, with dramatic moments of forbidden romance, reversals, treachery, betrayal and, ultimately, triumphs.

AUGUST

Andrews, Donna – Die Like An Eagle – Meg and Michael coach their twin sons’ youth baseball team and tangle with Biff Brown, the petty, vindictive league head. On opening day, Biff’s lookalike brother is found dead at the ball field. Biff has an alibi–and Meg suspects he may actually have been the intended victim.

Bowen, Rhys – Crowned and Dangerous – With Darcy driving me out of London in a borrowed motor car, I soon discover that he isn’t planning to introduce me to the pleasures of sinning in secret—as I had hoped—but to make me his wife!

Brown, Dale – Puppet Master – Recruited into the FBI to help track down criminals behind a massive financial scam, a robotics genius is swept up by a dangerous conspiracy that compels him to unleash the most powerful cyber weapons the world has ever seen.

Burke, James Lee – The Jealous Kind – An atmospheric, powerful, coming-of-age story set in 1950s Texas, as the specter of the Korean War looms.

Carr, Caleb – Surrender, New York – Many dedicated years working for the NYPD didn’t mean much when criminal psychologist Trajan Jones was fired from the force. Now living in exile in upstate New York, Trajan is reduced to teaching an online course in criminal investigation.

Connolly, John – A Time of Torment – Dangerous and driven private investigator Charlie Parker returns in the latest gripping thriller, in which ungodly fears haunt a strange and isolated community.

Ferris, Monica – Knit Your Own Murder – Local knitters are participating in a fundraising auction to save a community center, creating a growing pile of stuffed animals and toys right in front of the auctioneers as the audience bids. Among those contributing the most knitted goods is temperamental businesswoman Marsha Hanover—who keels over halfway through the event.

Garlock, Dorothy – Sunday Kind of Love – The New York Times best-selling author of Twice in a Lifetime presents a latest heartland America romance that explores the challenges of finding love in unexpected places.

Gregory, Philippa – Three Sisters, Three Queens – Raised in the coldly ambitious nursery of their grandmother Lady Margaret Beaufort (The Red Queen) Margaret and Mary Tudor are destined to be queens. The lives of these three women intertwine, as each survives childbirth, war, and political treachery.

Griffin, W.E.B. – Broken Trust – Having investigated his share of gruesome murders, Philadelphia Homicide Sergeant Matt Payne is beginning to think nothing can shock him – until the case of a young socialite’s death lands on his desk.

Macomber, Debbie – Sweet Tomorrows – Jo Marie Rose and Mark Taylor return in the conclusion to this wonderful series set in Cedar Cove, as new guests check in to the Rose Harbor Inn—where happily ever afters await those who need them most.

Neggers, Carla – Liar’s Key – An FBI legend, a mysterious antiquities specialist and a brazen art thief draw top FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan into a complex web of blackmail, greed and murder.

Patterson, James – Bullseye – Tracking a pair of killers who are targeting an extremely popular United States president, detective Michael Bennett puts himself in the line of fire to prevent an assassination and the re-ignition of the Cold War.

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth – First Star I See Tonight – A star quarterback and a feisty detective play for keeps in this sporty, sexy, sassy novel.

Scottoline, Lisa – Damaged – Named the guardian ad litem of a middle-school boy with emotional issues on whose behalf she is suing the Philadelphia school district, Mary DiNunzio is confronted by elite lawyer Nick Machiavelli and risks her engagement in her obsessive investment in the case.

Steel, Danielle – Rushing Waters – An interior designer, her independent architect mother, a British investment banker, an ER doctor who survived Hurricane Sandy and two NYU students are thrust together when a major hurricane descends upon New York City and wreaks unimaginable devastation

Wiggs, Susan – Family Tree -Love. Success. A handsome husband, a beautiful home. These are the things Annie Rush can call her own. These are the foundations of her charmed life in Los Angeles. But in an instant, that life is shattered. And as Annie sifts through the ashes, she must face the shock and pain of a devastating loss.

Woods, Stuart – Smooth Operator – When President Kate Lee calls Stone Barrington to Washington on an urgent matter, it’s soon clear that a potentially disastrous situation requires the kind of help more delicate than even he can provide .

June is National Rose Month

June 8, 2016May 10, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

rose

Roses have a long and colorful history. They have been symbols of love, beauty, war, and politics. The rose is, according to fossil evidence, 35 million years old. In nature, the genus Rosa has some 150 species spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Alaska to Mexico and including northern Africa.

November 20, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed a resolution making the rose the national floral emblem. Americans have communicated their feelings through roses for years.

Rose Color Meanings:

Red: love, beauty, courage, respect

Yellow: joy, gladness, friendship

Red and yellow: jovial, happy

Yellow with red tips: falling in love

White: purity, innocence

Pink: appreciation, thank you, admiration

Orange: desire, enthusiasm

Peach: appreciation, sincerity, gratitude, closing the deal

Lavender: love at first sight

Coral: desire

Roses by the Number:

A single rose of any color: utmost devotion

Two roses entwined: ‘marry me’

Six roses: a need to be loved or cherished

Eleven roses: receipient is truly and deeply loved

Thirteen roses: secret admirer

Roses make an appearance in many books. To connect to our catalog for all things roses, click here. Below are a few fiction books referencing roses.

Winter Roses – Diana Palmer – Ranch owner Stuart York is at the mercy of Ivy Conley, his younger sister’s best friend, when she, upon returning home, is determined to prove that she is no longer a little girl, but a woman who wants him more than anything.

Chalice of Roses – Jo Beverley – Four novellas about quests for the Holy Grail, including a woman who must use it to bring peace to England and a Regency lady who must protect it from Napoleon’s spies.

Roses – Leila Meacham – Having not married in spite of their true feelings, cotton tycoon Mary Toliver and timber magnate Percy Warwick struggle with deceit, secrets and tragedies that challenge their children and grandchildren in their small east Texas community.

For The Roses – Julie Garwood – Discovered abandoned as a baby in a New York City alley and raised by the Clayborne brothers, four urchin boys, Mary Rose Clayborne remains fiercely loyal to her misfit family until an English lord reveals a shocking secret that sends her into a confrontation with her past.

Coming Up Roses – Catherine Anderson – Widow Kate Blakely, who is wary of love after her failed first marriage, nonetheless falls for her new neighbor, Zachariah McGovern, after he rescues her four-year-old daughter, Miranda, from a well.

Bed of Roses – Nora Roberts – Florist Emma Grant despairs of ever finding Mr. Right, until she develops feelings for Jack Cooke, an architect who works closely with her and her colleagues at Vows wedding planning.

Summer of Roses – Luanne Rice – Lily Malone is forced to confront the events and relationships of the past as she deals with the man who has separated her from everything she has ever loved, but who could hold the key to her young daughter Rose’s future.

A Good Year for the Roses – Gil McNeil – Recently divorced and struggling to support her three boys, Molly is stunned when she inherits her aunt’s manor house, a house that includes her eccentric old uncle, an ailing bed-and-breakfast, and a beautiful rose garden.

Roses Are Red – James Patterson – Facing a particularly vicious breed of killer in his latest investigation, Alex Cross finds his family targeted by the vengeful Mastermind, a situation that is complicated by tension in his relationship with his girlfriend Christine and his daughter Jannie’s unexplained seizures.

The Care and Handling of Roses With Thorns – Margaret Dilloway – Enduring a strict schedule that balances her teaching job with the hospital regimen required by her kidney disease, Gal Garner devotes her spare hours to cultivating a new rose variation before her world is upended by the arrival of her teenage niece.

If you’re interested in the growing and care of roses, we have a great selection of nonfiction books under 635.9337.

Roses: a celebration –A unique book on roses gathers together the wisdom of thirty-two well-known rose gardeners, including Rosie Atkins, David Austin, Thomas Christopher, Ken Druse, Joe Eck, Allen Lacy, Anthony Noel, Michale Pollan, David Wheeler, Christopher Lloyd, Anne Raver, and Graham Stuart Thomas, among others.

Roses Without Chemicals – A former curator at the New York Botanical Garden describes 150 different varieties of roses that can be grown without the use of pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers and provides information on planting, pruning and caring for these gorgeous blooms.

Everyday Roses – A guide to growing roses dispels common myths, offers advice on selecting the right roses for one’s landscape, provides information on disease and chemical-free pest control, and includes suggestions for garden design and maintenance.

Designing With Roses – Explores the versatility of roses and offers advice on planting, feeding, and pruning.

Coffee For Roses – Accompanied by full color photographs, a garden expert reveals the truth behind 71 common garden practices, in this delightful combination of practical advice and gardening history.

Complete Guide to Roses – An innovative, lavishly illustrated series of authoritative gardening books from the experts at Miracle-Gro takes the mystery out of horticulture for home gardeners of all skill levels with essential information on plant selection, cultivation, garden maintenance, pest control, soil preparation, climate, landscape design, and more.