May 2019 Book Report

The Last Castle (1967) by Jack Vance

After many years on other planets, wealthy families return to earth to establish their own kingdoms with the aid of alien slaves. They develop a feudal society with the very rich at the top and the commoners and other slaves at the bottom. Hundreds of years later, one class of slaves, the Mek, revolt to wipe out the humans and make Earth their own. One by one, the ruling castles are besieged and destroyed. The last castle faces the possibility of being able to withstand only by joining with the common folk and giving up their privileged lifestyle.

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Between Two Worlds (2014) by Katherine Kirkpatrick

Enjoyable historical fiction book about a young Inuit woman, Eqariusaq and her dealings with the Peary family in Greenland. All the people are known figures, just the story of the woman known to the Peary’s as Billy Bah is fleshed out with conjecture. Fascinating insight into what life was like for the Inuit people. This all takes place before Peary made it to the North Pole.

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Emma by Charlotte Bronte and ‘another lady’.

First two chapters written in the last months of Bronte’s life in 1855. Finished and published anonymously 1980. Constance Savery was the anonymous author.

Great read!! A nice little mystery. Matilda Fitzgibbon is abandoned at a school for girls. Next door is Mrs. Chalfont, who takes an interest in the child. When Matilda is abused at the school, Mrs. Chalfont takes guardianship of her and comes to love the child as her own. When it becomes known that the child’s name is really Martina Dearsley, and there is a great mystery about her, Mrs. Chalfont enlists the aid of a gentleman friend to find out just who this child is.

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Murder in C Major (1988) by Sara Hoskinson Frommer

First book in a series. Joan moves with her son back to her home town after the death of her husband. While looking for a job, she joins the local community orchestra. One of the members is a particularly unpleasant man who is disliked by all. When he seemingly dies at rehearsal of a heart attack, no one grieves. When it becomes apparent it is murder, and another member of the orchestra dies, Joan teams up with a local detective to solve it.

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Porgy (1925) by DuBose Heyward

This is the book on which the musical and movies were based. Crippled Porgy begs for a living and is content with his lot. After Crown murders a man, his woman, Bess, is left behind when he flees justice. Porgy takes her in and she becomes his woman. They settle into a peaceful life until Crown returns.

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