Book Description
Lady Rose Summer, the wayward Edwardian debutante who keeps getting mixed up in disreputable adventures, would swear she is not a jealous woman. After all, she knows her engagement to private detective Captain Harry Cathcart is only a ploy to keep her parents from shipping her off to India. But then Harrys latest client, Dolores Duvala vision of curves with a seductive French accentstarts appearing everywhere at his side...... In a fit of rage, Rose threatens Dolores, only to be found the very next day, standing over her dead body. The newspapers rush to convict her, but can Harry and Detective Superintendent Kerridge clear her name?
Customer Reviews:
don't start the series with this one............2007-09-23
since others have summed up the storyline so well, I only want to add a few quick notes to the other reviews. First-do not start reading this mystery series with this one as you will be totally confused as the book is entirely written in the assumption that you already have read the first three in the series.
Secondly-I have to agree with several other reviwers-calling this fourth book a mystery at all is stretching it as the vast majority of the story centers on the travails of Rose's and Daisy's love lives and their many quirky misadventures.
Finally-stalwart Chesney fan that I am, I must admit this fourth book to be disappointing. Miss Chesney has several characters behaving completely out of character, and in the case of the two female leads, their propensity to get themselves into dire situations is now turning annoying.
The author doesn't seem to want the two characters to grow or learn from previous mistakes. There was several brief moments of hilarity but moreover they were diminished by overwhelming buffoonery that made me want to throttle the both of them:)
So overall I would suggest the book of fellow die hard Chesney fans but others should probably skip it or at least hold off to see if the author can redeem herself and her Edwardian Ladies in the next installment.
3.5 stars!
Mystery and Romance.......2007-09-10
A light romantic mystery in the classic sense. The heroine is a woman of independence before this was proper. Her escapades are always interesting and the endings satisfying.
Fourth in a series of comedy romantic murder mysteries.......2007-06-13
This is the fourth in a series of murder mysteries set in Britain and France in the first decade of the 20th century featuring Captain Harry Cathcart and Lady Rose Summer.
To date there are four books in the series, which are
Snobbery with Violence
Hasty Death
Sick of Shadows
Our Lady of Pain
The author writes romantic fiction, mostly humorous regency romances plus one or two set in the Edwardian period, under the name Marion Chesney, and mystery/detective stories such as the Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth series under the name M.C. Beaton.
This Edwardian series is a something of a cross-over between the two - part romance and part murder mystery - and the books often have both names on the cover (usually something like "M.C. Beaton writing as Marion Chesney.)
The main characters in the series are:
Captain Harry Cathcart, younger son of a Baron, has left the army after being injured in the Boer war. At the start of the first book in the series he carried out a service for Lady Rose's father for which he gained a reputation as a fixer, and by the time of this fourth book he is successfully running a business as the Edwardian equivalent of a Private Investigator - though this makes some members of "Society" look down on him as being "in trade."
Lady Rose Summer, Harry's fiance and the only daughter of the Earl and Countess of Hadfield. Slightly notorious as having briefly been involved with suffragettes. Chafes at the fact that society will not allow her a useful role, and constantly looking for something more challenging to do -from working as a typist or secretary to helping the police solve murders.
Beckett - Harry's "personal gentleman" - in love with Daisy.
Daisy - Lady Rose's companion. A former chorus girl, but when Captain Cathcart recruited her to play the role of a maid with a contagious disease as one of the escapades in the first book, Lady Rose recruited her to do the job for real. Later Lady Rose promoted her from Maid to Companion. In love with Becket and wants to marry him.
Detective Superintendent Kerridge - a senior policeman of humble origins and carefully supressed radical views, reinforced by the fact that whenever he has to interview an aristocrat they always threaten to report him to the Prime Minister. In the first three books, he played Inspector Slack to Lady Rose's Miss Marple. By this one his main role is releasing Harry or Lady Rose from arrest on the frequent occasions one of them is wrongly accused of murder.
At the start of this fourth book, Lady Rose Summer is engaged to Captain Harry Cathcart for the second time. They originally agreed an engagement at the end of the second book to prevent Lady Rose's parents shipping her out to India to find a husband. The engagement was broken off and then re-established in the third book.
Although you would think that their propensity for breaking up and re-establishing engagements was a dead give-away, neither has ever admitted that they actually have feelings for each other. Lady Rose "would have sworn on a stack of bibles that she was not a jealous woman." Then a gorgeous courtesan from Paris, Mademoiselle Dolores Duval, hires Harry in his capacity as an investigator. When Harry accompanies Dolores to the theatre, Lady Rose completely loses her temper, and the book loses any claim to authenticity as a picture of Edwardian Society. She snaps at Mademoiselle Duval an insult which a titled lady of that time would never have heard of and the threat to "leave my fiance alone ... or I'll kill you."
Unfortunately the following morning Lady Rose discovers Dolores Duval's murdered body - and is then arrested for the murder when the cleaning lady finds Rose standing over the body with a gun in her hand.
This starts a madcap series of scrapes which range from London to Oxford Paris to Scotland, and include several more murders, Lady Rose and Daisy spending some time under the supervision of a group of Anglican Benedictine nuns who are as ascetic and severe as the strictest Catholic ones, and with romances, engagements and marriages made, sundered, and on again.
Despite my previous comparison with Miss Marple, this is not in the same league as Agatha Christie as a detective story, and neither is it in the same league as Jane Austen as a romance. Nor, indeed, is it one of the author's best books. When she is really on form, M.C. Beaton/Marion Chesney is capable of good characterisation and flashes of delightful humour. However apart from the absurd parody of convent life, and the ironic trick by which Lady Rose's parents are persuaded to allow her to leave the convent, there isn't much good humour in this book, and non-stop action becomes a substitute for character development.
Worth reading if you enjoyed the other books in the series and want to know what happens next, or if you are looking for a mildly entertaining light read. Otherwise, give it a miss.
happy reader.......2007-03-09
A fun, quick read. I couldn't wait to see what happened with Harry and Lady Rose.
Fluffy, Fun, and Fascinating.......2006-06-03
Marion Chesney (terrific cozy author M.C. Beaton) knows how to write one heck of an enjoyable read - IF you like historical cozies where the author has actually done solid, serious research about the era.
Edwardian debutante Lady Rose Summer and her wise-cracking sidekick Daisy don't mean to keep stumbling into disreputable adventures, but they certainly add a zip to life; and after all, why should private detective Captain Harry Cathcart be the only one to have adventures?!?! Then calamity strikes! When Harry's newest client, Dolores Duval, a gorgeous French lady "of reputation" causes Rose to feel tremors of jealousy our heroine ultimately loses her head and actually threatens to kill Dolores only to be discovered standing next to Dolores' dead body the very next day! Her strait-laced parents are horrified and determinedly pack Rose and Daisy off to a strict convent for a year to learn how to behave.
But then another murder occurs and fingers again point to Rose . . .
Customer Reviews:
a thinking woman's diary.......2006-12-17
edith holden weaves a marvelous spell with her beautiful watercolor paintings, her daily wonderment at the flora and fauna she observes, and her quotations of poetry to accompany every month. the poetry reflects both the physical world and all that it represents to the human spirit that beholds it. a lovely gift for a thinking woman, especially (but not necessarily) one who loves her garden.
Customer Reviews:
Breathtaking nature walk.......2004-12-02
The Country Diary is a book arranged month by month of the writer/artist's nature walks and discoveries. Each month begins with a history of the month, related folk lore, and poetry. There is also wonderful art work that allows you to journey with Ms. Holden on her adventures. Her monthly entries details the world around her and draws you back to the pages of her journal over and over again. I first checked out this book from the library to get my children to begin their own nature journals as part of our homeschooling science class, but I found myself more captivated than even they could ever be. I have checked out her book so many times, that I finally bought my own copy. She has motivated me to sketch in my own journal and to look with new eyes at the natural world around me. In times where one is forced to stay in, you can still journey outside with Ms. Holden's book. Awesome!
a special find.......2003-03-13
found this book at an estate sale for 25 cents....truly a beautiful find.
This book is a special treasure.......2000-12-07
After a doctor's appointment in Houston I dropped by a small privately owned bookstore I thought looked interesting. As the owner and I spoke she said she could tell I would love this book because of my love of gardening,birds and nature--but that obtaining it would be very difficult. I asked them to put me on a search list and a few months later it arrived. The author's drawings and observations as she watches nature are captivating. Edith started this journal in 1906 and it was never shown to anyone until it was discovered on a shelf in an old country home and then published. There is a sweetness and innocence in the writing that's hard to describe. The pages are like a rather like a thick piece of manilla paper and if I had an extra copy of this book I would frame page after page. I purchased it sight unseen and consider it one of my great treasures.
a beautiful book of nature watercolours.......2000-12-03
This book was a bestseller when it was originally published in the 1970's, and there was a good reason for it. Edith Holden, the artist of this work was a very accomplished watercolorist. This book is filled with her views of the fruits, beauty and wonder of nature. It shows the flowers, birds and insects of the natural world as they appear over a year accompanied by appropriate poems and quotations.
The watercolours are simply breathtaking. The closest thing to this book that I have seen is illuminated manuscripts, but the effect here is quite different.
The publishers have been very wise with publication. You get a page-by-page facimilie in full colour, reproducing the original manuscript. They have not cluttered the book up by reproducing pages and putting their own text next to it.
If you run across a copy of this pick it up and let it take you away to another world.
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.......2000-02-09
Magnificent! Beutiful! A piece of art
Book Description
In the second volume of Lady Katie Tottenham's deliciously explicit autobiography, the uninhibited 19-year-old diarist records how she and her pleasure-loving friends indulge in the lusty spirit of the Edwardian era with a boundless sexual energy. Whether enjoying a romp on the golf course or coaching young South African cricketers in the gentle art of bowling a maiden over, Katie takes the reader on an erotic odyssey.
Customer Reviews:
A REALLY RAUNCHY READ FROM OLD LONDON TOWN.......2005-04-19
This second instalment of the fictionalised autobiography of two Edwardian era upper crust teenage girls - Gerry Newman and Anna Cooney - is perhaps even more explicit than the first book in this hugely entertaining bawdy narrative which till now has only been available to academics in the British Library in London. The girls crammed their real-life experiences into a diary of our heroine, nineteen year old Lady Katie Tottenham. The authors exhibit a boundless energy as they throw themselves into a variety of lusty sexual escapades with both boys and girls. Without doubt, this lively and at last uncensored tale will delight all lovers of historical erotica.
Book Description
The third volume in Lady Katie Tottenham's personal account of her teenage romps through London, Sensual Memoirs strips away the facade of Edwardian gentility, revealing the naked truth of a society ruled by the flesh. Together with her bevy of hedonistic and lecherous friends, Katie wanders the parties and streets of Edwardian London leaving sexual carnage behind. Lewd and lascivious, these intimate memoirs are deliciously sexy.
Customer Reviews:
Not erotica ... just bad porn ..........2006-12-27
I guess the title 'Edwardian' should have warned me that in all probablity I was not going to like this book. Unlike other reviewers that seem to only read and review 5 star books I also know that one must read many books before we get a good one ....
Unlike Victrian erotica, Edwardian does not have the deliciously tantalizing 'pursuit and capture' elements of writing nor is there much of a 'surrender'. The Edwardian wealthy class just outright make it crystal clear what they want from a relationship and it generally takes them only a paragraph or so to be totally naked and 'engaged' Kinda like a Penthouse letters magazine .... only a lot less creativity ...
Book Description
A naturalist's delight, and a record-breaking gift book, back in print! In 1906, Edith Holden recorded in words and images the flora and fauna of the British countryside through the changing seasons. For 70 years, her enchanting journal lay undiscovered--until 1977, when it was first published with great success (as any bookseller will recall). Now, it is back in print, ours to treasure once again. All the charm and beauty of the original remains intact in this facsimile, with Holden's carefully handwritten entries: favorite poems, personal thoughts, observations of the wildlife she saw in her native Warwickshire; and remarks on her travels throughout England and Scotland. On every page, her exquisitely rendered paintings--executed with a naturalist's eye for detail and an artist's sensitivity and skill--capture birds perched on branches, their mouths open in song; a tiny shrew mouse, sniffing the air; delicate butterflies and slithering snakes; fluttering leaves; and an array of flowers, from pink foxgloves and trailing roses to yellow water lilies. And, each spellbinding picture reflects her deep love of nature. Surely a beloved classic for a new generation of book buyers.
Customer Reviews:
A little corner to sit, observe and rest...........2006-04-22
I have the 1977 version and I think it is far better than the recent one. It's lovely to follow the months day by day, learning facts about trees, flowers, insecs. The artwork she drew is enchanting.....
A precious not much heard of book....
Lovely elegant book.......2006-01-14
I borrowed this book from the library and fell in love with the delicate watercolors of plant and animal life, the occasional quotes from poetry, and the rare observations about the weather, etc. Then the book went out of print but it has returned and remains a treasure on my bookshelf, a book I will not lend out to anyone lest it not come home again. A resonant reminder that there is so much going on if only the train would break down and leave us free to walk a while.
Edith's Life & Work.......2004-06-16
I became drawn to the work and life of Edith Holden after I saw the TV series that was made of her life. I became very intrigued and even bought and read the Ina Taylor biography. Her bizarre and mysterious death intrigued me almost as much as her life. Although there was no sign of struggle, and the inquest ruled her death an accident, I'm not entirely convinced that Edith died accidentally. I'm somewhat convinced that she may have committed suicide. Even if she couldn't swim, it's hard to believe that a woman can drown in 4 feet of water that close to shore unless she did it intentionally.
This is an enchanting book full of nature illustrations by Edith Holden, with excerpts of poetry by great poets, and nature diary entries and observations by Edith, about about birds, insects, flowers, rural places she visited, that sort of thing. Very appealing for those with a nastalgia for country surroundings and the country life.
David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"
she's back, better than ever.......2002-12-14
When i found out that the Country diary of an Edwardian Lady was to come back in print after more than five years in the wilderness, i remembered feeling elated, why, because Ms Holden and her talents was the best thing ever to have happened to the book world,and this new edition showing what the diary looked like at the time it was written is the best ever, she put rural warwickshire on the map in a way no other author could have or will do, the book is not only a teaching of nature (remembering that Edith was a teacher) but also a portable art gallery of in my opinion some of the best surviving examples of her artwork, i have long been a holden devotee (the word fan is reserved for rowdy pop stars)i have and always will treasure this beautiful book and its sister publication the nature notes of an edwardian lady, we love this book perhaps for its nostalgic charm for all things turn of the century, but more importantly because most of ediths beloved nature trails around her home in Olton Hollow, solihull now no longer exist, so my advice, buy this book and give it pride of place in the cabinet
A lovely book.......2002-04-11
I bought this book years ago and foolishly gave it away. I recently repurchased it and am glad to have it back. I give it four stars instead of five because I figure five stars should be reserved for John James Audubon.
For the most part I like the older edition (ISBN 0-03-021026-7) better. It is printed on yellowish paper with darkened edges, purposely made to look a bit aged. The colors are darker and the detail on the illustrations shows up better. But this 2001 edition has its good points too. It's printed on pure white paper so even though some of the pictures look a little washed out, the colors look clearer and brighter, not so muddy. So some people might prefer this new edition.
There's a biography of Edith Holden, out of print, that I'd be interested to read. (Edwardian Lady: The Story of Edith Holden, by Ina Taylor.)
Average customer rating:
|
Nature Notes of the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
Edith Holden
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Natural History
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0060152265 |
Customer Reviews:
A beautiful book.......2007-04-20
I had some of the stationary years ago, and didn't realize until I was at a second hand booksale the other day that the artwork was from a book. What a treasure of drawings!
And how wonderful to think that someone a)saved it and b) had the courage to reprint it exactly as it was, handwriting and all. Worth it just for the artwork, plus you get a view into the world of the women of that time. Having just seen the film "Miss Potter" and how hard it was for a woman to be taken seriously as an artist in England, this book is a delight to find.
what are your opinions on this book?.......2001-11-07
i have a reseach paper due on this book and i need to make direct quotes on it. please help! thanks.
The best nature notebook I've ever seen!.......1998-01-09
Charlotte Mason was an educator in England in the last century, and one of her main educational methods was to have every student keep a Nature Notebook or Nature Diary---a record of the natural world as the children observed it first-hand. The student's Nature Notebooks were filled with poetry, prose, line drawings and watercolors.
"The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" is the perfect example of a fully developed Nature Diary. The author went out amid the English countryside and recorded what she observed---the flowers, trees, birds, insects.
The artistry of the drawings and watercolors in this is absolutely breathtaking. If you're looking for an introduction to the idea of Nature Diaries, or you simply enjoy a book of true grace and beauty, then this is the book for you.
Average customer rating:
|
Edwardian Lady's Flower Album
Agnes Katherine Landale
Manufacturer: Frances Lincoln
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Flowers
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0711225281 |
Book Description
Aggie took inspiration from this remarkable garden to create this lavish calendar. Every page blossoms with hand-painted watercolor illustrations of seasonal plants and hand-drawn poems for every week of the year.
Books:
- Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Proteges Get the Most Out of Their Relationships
- Professional Dreamer: 6 Simple Steps That Turn Dreams Into Reality
- Safe Harbor (Drake Sisters, Book 5)
- Shadow Dance: A Novel
- Sir Walter Raleigh: Being a True and Vivid Account of the Life and Times of the Explorer, Soldier, Scholar, Poet, and Courtier--The Controversial Hero of the Elizabethan Age
- Spiritual Connections: How to Find Spirituality Throughout All the Relationships in Your Life
- Spymistress: The Life of Vera Atkins, the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II
- Teacher Man: A Memoir
- Textbook of Pediatric Emergency Procedures
- The Apprentice Mage, 1865-1914 (W.B. Yeats: A Life, Vol. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Surveyor Reference Manual, Fourth Edition
- History: Fiction or Science
- Three Novels of Ancient Egypt: Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis of Nubia, Thebes at War
- Active Learning for Infants
- Captain America #25: The Death of Captain America
- FE Review Manual: Rapid Preparation for the General Fundamentals of Engineering Exam
- Birds of Washington State
- The Road to Success is Paved with Failure : How Hundreds of Famous People Triumphed Over Inauspiciou
- 1996 International Tax Summaries: A Guide for Planning and Decisions
- Nobel Lectures in Economic Sciences, 1996-2000: Including Presentation Speeches and Laureates' Biogr
Sick of Shadows: An Edwardian Murder Mystery (Edwardian Murder Mysteries)
Hasty Death: An Edwardian Murder Mystery (Edwardian Murder Mysteries)
Snobbery With Violence
Love, Lies and Liquor (Agatha Raisin Mysteries)
Death of a Dreamer (Hamish Macbeth Mystery)
