Now that the clocks have gone back and autumn leaves are making the pavements slippery, it's time to browse the bookshelves and settle down with a good book. So I've got a couple of recommendations.
I've started reading 'The Heretic's Daughter' by Kathleen Kent which has fairly recently come out in paperback. It's set around the time of the Salem witch trials, and the time and landscape come vividly to life. Those kind of small, ultra religious communities must have been suffocating to anyone of an independent wayward, nature, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about the mother / daughter relationship which seems - from what I've read so far - to be at the heart of the book. Another recommendation is from a much later period in history. It's 'Hearts Undefeated', an anthology of writing by women about the 2nd world war. The excerpts from letters, diaries and news reports includes both famous womens voices and those of 'ordinary' women, no less valid. They cover the span of the war - from prelude to aftermath - and include both the uplifting and the harrowing. Ultimately you marvel at the resilience of the human spirit. The book is published by Virago, edited by Jenny Hartley. (Not Jenny Hart!!)
Finally, just a 'still life' of a crafty corner in my sitting room. Looking unusually neat ...
They look like interesting reads - I've made a note. I enjoyed "The Crucible" years ago and find that era fasinating - if uncomfortable. Lovin gyour craft coneer - and is that a pile of Selvedges I spy?
Posted by: Ticking Stipres | October 25, 2009 at 04:09 PM