citivolus sus

18 February 2011

Camellia in bloom

Camellia: This sweet camellia was in our backyard when we bought this property. It is large, probably 13 or so feet tall and was perfectly shaped. When all the pines went down during Ivan, the camellia lost it's back half. It looked perfect from the front, but completely flat from the back. Even after all that damage, it still looks great and has filled in since the 2005 storm. Here is a beautiful bloom photo I took today.

17 February 2011

Spring is ...

springing - at least at my office. Maples are starting to bud out. Thank goodness.

The Secret of Chimneys

The Secret of Chimneys ~ Agatha Christie ~ 1925
Summary: A bit of adventure and quick cash is all that good-natured drifter Anthony Cade is looking for when he accepts a messenger job from an old friend. It sounds so simple: deliver the provocative memoirs of a recently deceased European count to a London publisher. But the parcel holds more than scandalous royal secrets. It contains a stash of letters that suggest blackmail - and lead to the murder of a stranger who's been shadowing Anthony's every move. Discovering the dead man's identity means retracing his steps - to the rambling estate of Chimneys where darker secrets, and deadlier threats, await anyone who dares to enter.
Comments: No Poriot, no Miss Marple, but tan, educated, charming, intelligent Anthony Cade. A ner-do-well to be sure, but bound by a task and unflinching to complete it. Sigh.
Anthony Cade is the center of this story that starts in Africa and leads to London via the repercussions of the failing government of Herzoslovakia that will have an impact in many other countries, including England. Cade is leading a group of British tourists - a job he hates, but it pays the bills when approached by Jimmy McGrath, an old friend, who asks Cade to take the memoirs of Count Stylptitch to a publisher in London. Many, many, people want this memoir to disappear, so it's not a violence-free chore, but it could be exciting - much more so than touring a bunch of old people around. McGrath also asks Cade to take a bunch of letters to Mrs. Virginia Revel - letters that it appears she wrote to her lover while married. McGrath thinks that backmail may be involved and it would be the right thing to do to return the letters to Mrs. Revel. Now widowed, Mrs. Revel is an independent woman who speaks her mind. Though young, she is observant, intelligent and accustomed to getting what she wants. That's simple, since she's a beauty as well.
While I would love to go through the entire story in detail, that would defeat the purpose of my comments. There are several recognizable Christie characters in The Secret of Chimneys, or I should say characters in this book will become recognizable as types in later works. Cade is the independent man who you can trust even though you may not know his entire story. Virginia Revel is a type that is easily seen in other Christie works - this is not a negative.
I enjoy these types of characters. There are a couple of plot twists that I didn't expect and a romance that I did. The Scotland Yard Inspector Battle is sincere in his duties, intelligent and secretive, but still very likable. The French Inspector (involved because Count Stylpitch) died in Paris, Monsieur Lemoine, has some of the (slightly annoying) qualities of Poirot. There is an interesting sub plot to the two murders in the book - King Victor, the exquisite jewlery thief has recently been released from prision and may be at Chimneys to steal something left there, perhaps, many years ago.
One of my favorite parts in the book, I have to note since it won't give anything away. While trying to make heads and tales of all the things happened at Chimneys, Cade says, "Watson to your Sherlock, in fact?" "Detective stories are mostly bunkum," said Battle unemotionally. "But they amuse people," he added as an afterthought. "And they're useful sometimes." Love Christie's sense of humor.
The Secret of Chimneys is a very good Christie read, while comfortably predictable in some ways, there were turns in other parts. A very enjoyable read.

16 February 2011

Austen Blogs I Enjoy

A modern Miss Austen*

I have a list of Austen and Austen-related blogs that I read on a regular (daily) basis. Sometime last year I wrote about contemporary Austen-fiction writers that I enjoyed (read that here) because I did not have a chance to express either to Miss Austen or Ms. Heyer how much I enjoy their work. That got me thinking about the blogs too. Books, fiction in particular, are one thing, but the blogs provide a different take on information - more and varied bits of info. Blogs, historical specifically, provide opportunities to think about things Regency, read samples of writing, find interesting bits of research information and historical context, and most importantly things that make you laugh and think.

I read a decent number of blogs about several different subjects, Miss Austen being one of my favorite subjects. Blogs provide me with lots to think about in Miss Austen's writing, her time period, her era's social customs and how different those are from our customs. I get to learn things, agree with authors, and laugh at people who don't quite get the Austen thing.

These are my current favorites devoted to Miss Austen:
Austen Blog - Margaret Sullivan

Austenprose - Laurel Ann
Austen Inspired Fan Fiction - Mary Lydon Simonsen
First Impressions - Alexa Adams
Jane Austen Today - Vic
Jane Austen Sequels - Jane Odiwe
Jane Austen Addict -Laurie Viera Rigler

Blogs also link people of like mind (to some degree) together in a community. That's a good thing. I plan on putting together a listing of family farm blogs, cooking blogs, and literature blogs that I enjoy in the future.

*Photo credit: Theo Westenberg