Tag Archives: Oxford

The Madwoman Upstairs

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9781501124211_p0_v2_s192x300With the mystery of Jane Eyre and the force of a modern romance, Catherine Lowell creates a satisfying plot in The Madwoman Upstairs.

Samantha Whipple, new student at Oxford University, is the last living descendant of the Brontë sisters.  Home-schooled by her father, Tristan Whipple, a scholar who “spent his entire life trying to deconstruct” the writings of his famous relatives, Samantha, at twenty, is well-versed in the famous novels.  Lowell generously sprinkles excerpts from the well-known Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights as well as the less famous The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

At her father’s request, Samantha’s residence at Oxford is an isolated tower, often the site of campus tours.    When her father’s copies of the Brontë  books mysteriously arrive on her doorstep, encrypted with her father’s obscure notes referring to her inheritance, a collection of writings and paintings, including the “Warnings of Experience –  that may have been left to her by her father, she enlists the help of her tall, dark, handsome Oxford tutor to help her decipher the clues.

If you are a fan of the the Brontë  sisters, the references to the famous novels, and Lowell’s dissection of some of the plot lines may prompt you to reread the original texts.  References to the Brontë  treasure may have been inspired by the recent uncovering of a lost book containing poems and snippets from the Brontë  children –

“The Brontë Society has recovered the treasure for £170,000 from a seller in America where it has been for more than a century…it was originally sold following the death of their father Patrick Brontë  in 1861″…the Telegraph, 2015

If you are a student of literature, you will enjoy Lowell’s notes on literary criticism and intellectual pursuits:

  • “The great reward given to intelligent people is that they can invent all the rules and equate any dissent with stupidity.”
  • “…what everyone wants: meaning. Happiness in some sense, is irrelevant.”
  • “…the interpretation of a novel depends on the reader far more than it does on the text or the author’s intent…”
  • “Reading teaches you courage. The author is trying to convince you something fake is real…”

If you have never read a Brontë book – or only seen one of the many movies – and are looking for a romantic interlude with the trappings of an intellectual discussion, The Madwoman Upstairs has a story to keep you reading, while you sigh through the passion and try to decipher the mystery.

 

A Discovery of Witches at Oxford University

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After visiting Oxford University’s Bodleian Library and the Ashmolean Museum, I had a new appreciation for Deborah Harkness’ All Saints Trilogy, beginning with “A Discovery of Witches.” Harkness based her fictional stories on real characters and a real book. In an interview she noted:

“Elias Ashmole was a seventeenth-century English antiquarian and scholar. He gave major bequests to Oxford University, including the collection of books and objects that provided the foundation for the Ashmolean Museum (which is still in operation today). Ashmole’s books and manuscripts were first kept at the museum and then moved to the university’s Bodleian Library in the nineteenth century. The Ashmole manuscripts include numerous rare alchemical texts. One of the manuscripts, Ashmole 782, is currently missing. As a scholar, I’ve done a lot of research in the Ashmole alchemical manuscripts and always wondered what Ashmole 782 might contain.”

In the Ashmolean Museum bookstore I found a copy of “Alchemy and Mysticism: The Hermetic Museum” by Alexander Roob – the closest I could get to the missing book. A heavy tome,full of wood cuttings and illustrations connecting medieval mysticism with alchemy. Images include hieroglyphs and early scientific illustrations in the fields of medicine, and chemistry. Too heavy for my suitcase, I left it to be rediscovered by another.
Review of “A Discovery of Witches”

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The Undertow by Jo Baker

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If you’ve ever been lulled into floating blissfully on an ocean, only to be suddenly frightened into realizing the current is taking you somewhere you had not planned, you have experienced that same uneasy drift as reading Jo Baker’s aptly named – The Undertow.  As the story follows four generations from World War I to a terrorist bombing in 2005 – with a series of Williams –  contentedly listing toward uneventful lives, Baker adds the currency of human frailty and unexpected events to jolt into another direction.

Like many family sagas, The Undertow follows the influence of inherited issues.  The slow movement and long descriptions may try your patience at first. William Hastings, a sailor in the first World War, faithfully sends postcards to his pregnant wife in London telling her what she expects to hear, while he is yearning to sustain his adventure at sea and not return.  William shares his ambivalent emotions with his mate, Sully – before dying under attack at sea.  Sully continues to reappear throughout the generations – a dark and persistent reminder of  the weaknesses pulling the characters under.

Billie, the son who never knew his father, grows up to be a star athlete, winning awards for biking, but his own demons keep him from the Olympics. He fights and survives in the second World War,  but not before creating an incident that shapes his life when he returns.  His son, Will, is born with a disability that prevents him from fulfilling his father’s athletic dreams.  Will’s fate is Oxford; again, he manages to sabotage his own happiness.

Finally, Billie, the talented artist great-granddaughter, at first seems destined to follow her ancestors to an unfulfilled life.  Sully again has an influence on her decisions, but this time she exonerates the family line.  With a short scene at the end of the book that’s easy to miss, Billie’s self- assessment is jolting.

Baker cleverly uses props as reminders throughout the story, but chapters jump erratically in time – sometimes years have passed; sometimes only a day, and I always found myself flipping pages back.  Baker’s strength is her careful description that targets the emotions of a scene:

“…the Dardanelles must be kept clear…What they carry back from the beaches are not boys. What they carry back are rinds and husks. They have become grocers of men.  They deliver them ashore full and whole, then come back for the empties.”

This probably will do well as a paperback – a slow, methodical read for a beach or rainy afternoon.  Nevertheless, The Undertow is not to be underestimated.  Baker uses historical settings to connect to the ordinariness of lives, the simple decisions and uncontrollable events that change everything…

“…you can get your verse perfect…the meter and rhythm absolutely undeniably right and true, and then life just comes along and trips you up with inconvenient facts…”

A Discovery of Witches

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What is the real secret of the philosopher’s stone? Deborah Harkness in A Discovery of Witches connects its immortality, wealth and knowledge to vampires.

Although the story begins slowly with academic references and a strange book recalled from the Oxford library stacks by Dr. Diana Bishop, it’s not long before witches, daemons, and vampires are locked in a battle for the ancient and powerful information the book promises. With a witch pedigree that tracks back to the Salem witch trials, Diana has stubbornly refused to acknowledge or use her magical powers until a handsome irresistible vampire, Dr. Matthew Clairmont becomes her protector and true love.

By mixing scientific inquiry, evolution and DNA, with popular interest in vampires and other worldly magical creatures, Harkness creates a compelling combination of mystery thriller, romance, and fantasy – with a sprinkling of scholarly historical fiction.  If you look closely, she also added a dash of intolerance for bigotry and racism.  As the action escalates, imaginative details on witchcraft and vampire lore, as well as a few well-used myths, supplement the plot line.  The antics of Diana’s childhood home reminded me of Jessica Day George’s Tuesdays at the Castle, but The Discovery of Witches is not for children.

This is the first of a trilogy, and I missed this book’s debut last year, but thanks to a good friend who reads the Mount Holyoke alumni newsletter, I’m back on track.  The second book – Shadow of Night – is already on the New York Times bestseller list, and I won’t have to wait long to find out what happens to the star-crossed lovers as they battle the forces of evil – time traveling back to sixteenth century England.  I can’t wait.

Only Time Will Tell

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If you like cliffhangers, Jeffrey Archer’s Only Time Will Tell has them in every chapter. Unfortunately, the ending also leaves you hanging; this is the first book of a trilogy in The Clifton Chronicles.

Each character narrates his or her own chapter, dropping the line at the end to be picked up midway through the next chapter in another voice. Harry Clifton anchors the action as a young poor but talented Pip-like character, who has secret benefactors as well as hidden tormentors. Harry’s miserable life changes for the better when he wins a choral scholarship to a prestigious prep school where he meets his best friend (who may also secretly be his half-brother).

The plot twists a few times, with the rich villain getting the upper hand now and then, until good overcomes evil. Harry manages to study his way all the way to Oxford acceptance, but throughout Harry’s young life, the mystery of his background lurks in the wings, promising to derail his success. Is he the son of the shipping magnate who may have killed the man he thinks of as his father? or not?

The supporting cast is predictable – the sacrificing mother, the elder mentor, the genius buddy, the beautiful maiden – and the plot is downright soap opera. To tell more would spoil the adventure. But I was hooked in the first pages, and never stopped until I read the book straight through into the night. Archer’s ending was clever – with World War II looming – a seasonal cliffhanger that could hold its own with any television series. I can’t wait for the next book to find out what happens to Harry.