I am Mary Tudor was an excellent book. I love English history, specifically that of the Tudor line, so I was very impressed when I read this book. There is good character description, a good plot, drama, emotion, you name it this book's got it.

This book is about king Henry 8th's eldest daughter Mary Tudor. It covers her life from birth till her un-looked for accension to the throne of England after the death of her brother Edward and after Lady Jane Grey was taken off the throne.

Better known to history as 'bloody Mary', this book details her life and dissapointments before she came to the throne. She went from loved princess and heiress, 'the jewel of england', to Bastard and poverty stricken and unloved and forgotten daughter - all because of her father's quest for a son to succeed him on the throne.

This has to be one of the most accurate of historical novels I have read. The author didn't have to invent what you read in here - most of it is pretty well documented. Just pick up a 'serious' biography to compare it. However, the author does a great job of putting this into the emotional context and development of Mary.

This is the first book in a set, the other 2 books being "Mary the queen" and "bloody Mary". These books were originally printed in the 1970's so they are hard to find now, but worth picking up if you see them.

Great book! It really shows the panic that would happen in that case. It is also a subject that is so real today.

These books teach morals, how to get along with others not like yourself & that you can have more than one best friend. The special pre-teen in your life will adore this book! Hilda Stahl is a terrific author. This book is one of the Best Friend Series Books. Highly Recommended! Don't let the special pre-teen girl in your life be without this book on her book shelf!

These books are pretty cool. They tell of a young girl moving to her stepfather's ranch. She struggles through problems, and helps her family. In book 3 she is trying to be happy and fit in, and then three outlaws show up. These books are good for kids around the age of eleven.

Sadie Rose books are the best!!! You should read all 11 of them!
It is about a 12 year old frontier girl named Sadie Rose. In the ninth book she turns 13.Her pa died in a blizzard and her mom married York,who was later named Caleb.
Sadie's family is probobly the most obedient family you have ever heard of.If you are a parent and really want your daughter to read really good books,these are the books you want.
(if you want your son to read really good books,then these are NOT books for him)

Great Characters, realistic plot, and interesting premise make this a wonderful addition to the series. Great Read

This series just keeps getting better and better! Perhaps it is because I spent more than ten years in Indiana, or because I really love historical mysteries -- probably it is a combination of both factors, but I really love the Hilda Johansson mystery series set in the early 1900s in South Bend, Indiana.

It's 1902, and Hilda Johansson is now the head housemaid at Tippecanoe Place, the home of the socially prominent and influential Studebaker family. And her relationship with fireman Patrick Cavanaugh is still 'on track' despite the disapproval of both Hilda's Swedish Lutheran family and Patrick's Irish Catholic family. However these days, Patrick's worries are totally centered on (as he terms it) his uncle Daniel Malloy's 'shenanigans.' Daniel Malloy has decided to stand for local elections under the Democratic ticket, and his very clever and sly campaign against his Republican opponent, John Bishop, has earned him his opponent's ire and contempt. Patrick thinks that his uncle is making the family a laughingstock in South Bend. But these political goings on take back seat when Bishop is found beaten to death at the County Fair. Suspicion falls on Daniel Malloy when first, his shillelagh is discovered next to the body, and when everyone realises that Daniel is missing! Hilda does not for one moment believe that Daniel murdered Bishop, and is all for offering her services to the Malloy family. But Patrick is adamant that she steer clear of this mess: not only does his family not like Hilda, but they also do not want her help. Hilda is both angered and hurt at the Malloy-Cavanaugh family attitude, and resolves to do nothing. However the next day, she is stunned when Mrs. Malloy, Daniel Malloy's wife asks for Hilda's help, in spite of her son's (Clancy) disapproval. Hilda decides to put her hurt feelings behind her and to help Mrs. Malloy. However her efforts suffer a setback when a witness comes forward with information of having witnessed Daniel attacking Bishop. Could Daniel Malloy be capable of murdering his political opponent in such a brutal manner? Hilda is determined to find out, no matter the cost.

This is a well written and well researched historical mystery. Jeanne M. Dams really made the South Bend of the early 1900s come alive for me. And what a heroine she has created in Hilda Johansson. In Hilda, Dams has created a truly refreshingly democratic and fair minded young woman who is able to look beyond race and religion. In the very first Hilda Johansson mystery, "Death In Lacer Red," Hilda went to the defense of a Chinese laundry man, and in this latest venture, she goes to bat for the Malloy-Cavanugh family, in spite of their disapproval of her. Hilda Johansson is a truly admirable heroine and detective.

"Green Grow The Victims" is a really excellent read. The plotting of this novel was virtually flawless, and the breath-neck pace at which the events unfolded was even and well sustained. Hilda and her family (sisters Gudrun & Freya, and brother, Sven) were well developed and depicted; as was Mrs. Malloy; however I felt that more could have been done with Patrick. I enjoyed reading this mystery novel very much, and look forward to the next Hilda Johansson mystery.

In 1902 America, citizens looked down upon the new wave of immigrants, but the government could not close the door on them because they were needed as labor. Within the various immigration groups, friction exists. Swedish Protestants and Irish Catholics brought their animosity towards one another across the ocean. However, upper servant Hilda Johansson and firefighter Patrick Malley remain friends in spite of the objections of family.

At a fair attended by Patrick and Hilda, his uncle running for council disappears. The authorities believe that he ran away because he killed his rival, but Patrick's aunt feels her spouse's life is in jeopardy. She hires Hilda, who has solved several homicides, to find her missing husband.

Jeanne M. Dams provides a realistic portrayal of what life was like for an immigrant in the Midwest in 1902. The author also shows the deep social class divisions that hindered free speech. Hilda is an intrepid heroine who follows her convictions rather than social dictates. GREEN GROW THE VICTIMS is a fast-paced and fascinating historical mystery.

Harriet Klausner

I must admit I was somewhat disappointed with this short book. It seemed to all lead up to Hesse's message regarding the responsibility of the self to accept the responsibility of guiding others and that pure followers are doomed to disappear. One only imagines that Hesse had an idea, almost like a dream, where a couple sentences summarizes an array of experiences whereby one feels like he has been through the entire journey with him yet cannot recall details. Although at times interesting, this book seems to be Hesse's period of contemplation before undertaking The Glass Bead Game.

"The Journey to the East," by Hermann Hesse, has been translated from German into English by Hilda Rosner. The book is narrated in the first person by a musician who, as a member of a secret society known as "the League," undertook a mystical journey. This book chronicles the narrator's quest to write the story of this pilgrimage.

"Journey" is a very "writerly" text; it's largely about the challenge of representing life experience as a written document. The book also deals with writing as both catharsis and as a burden, and with the larger issue of finding meaning in one's life. The book has touches of fantasy and offers intriguing glimpses at the inner workings of a secret society.

Hesse's prose, as translated by Rosner, has an elegant simplicity and subtle power. Recommended as companion texts: "The Guys," by Anne Nelson (also about the catharsis and burden of writing); and "The Sun at Night," by Roger Williamson (also deals with a secret mystical society).

In many ways, this book serves as a humble yet profound companion to Siddhartha and the Glass Bead Game (whose dedication reads: "To the Journeyers to the East"). It is another of Hermann Hesse's beautiful tales of searching. The story is that of HH, a member of an apparently long-dissolved League, a League of travelers who traversed space and time to absorb the wisdom, culture, and secrets of the ages to find peace and unity. As HH tries to recount this story, he reaches a great obstacle: the unexplained disappearance of League servant. He cannot go on. The rest of the book shows how HH deals with this encumbrance, only to find out that the truth he has been searching for is simpler than he though, and it is right in front of him.

What insight Hesse had, to be able to see that endless searching can blind us to what we already know, to be able to express the often-neglected value of humility and faithful servitude. Hesse's feel for communal and individual values shines forth in this brilliantly simple story, all of 117 pages.

And so I invite you to read this short tale in the hope that you, too, will find what you are looking for.

I found this book quite interesting but it should have been longer and given more details about myths and symbols. I was brought up being required to read old Icelandic literature at school and I found it astounding that this scholar didn't treat Iceland essentially as a Norwegian sub-colony. Refreshing. Also, if you are interested in old religions and don't want to float in the sea of new age and fancyful imagination this book is a "not romanticizing, not cynical" introduction into scandinavian and celtic symbolism. I don't have the diploma to comment on its accuracy.

H.R. Ellis Davidson has done a fabulous job in this book, where she illustrates a number of critial simularities and differences between what we currently understand of pre-Christian Celtic religion and pre-Christian Scandinavian religion.

I was constantly surprised and challenged as I worked my way through this book and experienced a number of my preconcieved notions of both Celtic mythology and Norse mythology being deconstructed and reassembled.

And, I felt, for a book mostly intended for a University Library, that it was a pleasant and entertaining read.

This is an objective analysis of pagan beliefs and practices, mostly in Viking and Celtic times. Davidson gives well -documented explanations of such things as holy places, feasting and sacrifice, rites of battle, land-spirits and ancestors, foreknowledge and destiny. As a historical fiction writer, writing about Viking times, this book is a valuable resource for me. I especially appreciate the careful referencing, and inclusion of evidence from archaeology as well as literature and folklore. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Viking and Celtic religion from a more historical rather than a "cultist" perspective.

Anita Brookner refers to this trilogy in her introduction to the NYRB edition as "a masterpiece," and it is quite clear from reading it that L.P. Hartley intended this as his artist's summa. The works are not as well known, however, as Hartley's THE GO-BETWEEN, and I think there is a reason for that: although the acccomplishments of the EUSTACE AND HILDA trilogy are genuine, it is not as polished a work as THE GO-BETWEEN. The principle problem with the trilogy is that almost all of the characters (including Hilda) exist only as they are perceived by the timid, pleasure-loving, and deeply narcissistic Eustace: thus they do not wholly "live" for us, and though Eustace himself seems quite real, he is so very sensitive that (to paraphrase Christopher Durang) you'd like to hit him. Eustace's fascination with the wealthy and with luxury inevitably bring to mind Marcel Proust, who clearly seems a model for Hartley's trilogy. The trilogy also seems modelled on Galsworthy and Meredith, however, and at times it makes for a very strange melange. It does have some fantastic set pieces, however, including Hilda's trip in the airplane with Dick Staveley and her later breakdown and its aftermath.

I cannot imagine how I manged to go through college, a graduate program in English, and many years of teaching British literature without ever having read this book. The character development is excellent, and even when the characters are being aggravating (as they sometimes are), the reader truly cares about them and wants to see what happens next. I highly recommend this book to all fans of the well-crafted British novel. Furthermore, I recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in the ways, both healthy and unhealthy, that siblings interact.

Certainly the most complicated and complex set of charcters in literature. And that THE charcters count up to only two only serves to underline the essence of the book. The trilogy is basically an exploration of releationship between a very unforthcoming and rather narcisstic Eustace and the domineering Hilda. "Shrimp and the anemone" starts off the tale from their childhood and culminates with "Eustace and Hilda". Both are certainly doomed to disappointments - neither can look beyond the other. For all Hilda's success at the hospital, it is Eustace's guardian that she sees herself - moral as well as the economic guardian.
One never senses any feeling in Eustace to escape this bond.Rather he is as much a slave to Hilda as she wills all to be. As the story progresses towards an intriguing climax, the tables are turned as Hilda now becomes dependant on Eustace for her medication. Eustace gears up to it gamefully - and it is reeally the final chapters of the book which explore the relationship at a direct level.
All in all, it is a wondferful read. Recommended for those who love words and who do not mind a leisurely pace. A masterpiece !

I have a love/hate relationship with H.D. - I lack her enthusiasm for Greek and Egyptian mythology (I'd rather move a bit further to the Southeast) but I appreciate what she does with the mythology. Thus I am never quite sure to what audience I can recommend her.

The second piece in this book, "The Wise Sappho" is a meditation on the poetry of Sappho - a poetic meditation. If you have read Sappho, this is a must read piece as both Sappho and H.D. are talismen of the feminist strand of poets.

The first piece "Notes on Thought and Vision" needs to be placed in time. H.D. speaks of her discovery of a higher level of consciousness, a level she refers to as jelly-fish mind as she imagines it as a jelly-fish above us (for brain consciousness) or beside us (for womb consciousness) with tenacles into our body. Her examples come primarily from art, Greek mythology or "the Galilean" (Jesus). She specifically includes scientists among those dependent upon this jelly-fish consciousness. However, she cautions that body and mind are not to be neglected. Her description of her experience serves as an important insight into her poetry and prose and as one ray into understanding the literary circle in which she roamed e.g. Ezra Pound.

At her best, H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) is a poet. Her novels all display a poet's sense of immediacy, but are sometimes confusing for their interior "scapes" which are frequently all too fluid. Her poetry, however, directs the "flow" deliberately and masterfully. "Notes on Thought and Vision" is a rare example (like Nikos Kazantzakis's "The Saviors of God") wherein the distinction between poetry and prose evaporates. These "Notes" are intimate and compelling, watery and feminine, mystical and yet (strangely) earthy--composed of octopus, seaweed, and salt. Her language is delicate, but not brittle, her point of view keenly sensitive but never timid. "Notes" is an intelligent reflection on the sub- or un-conscious, and on the source(s) of poetic inspiration, from the only person, male or female, who ever wrote openly of her experience as Sigmund Freud's patient (see H.D.'s "Tribute to Freud"). "Notes on Thought and Vision" is a short book (and a small one), which contains a very large message that celebrates the feminine and the divine as one and the same. A must-read for any woman who seeks to explore her creativity and for any man who seeks his own "anima".

For the first time I got to read this absolutely astounding masterpiece, I got thrilled and enchanted by the most beautiful language, descriptions that make you see the set and actions before your eyes, and of course this consuming crazy passion which entwines both main characters. Emily Bronte succeed not only in creating a most touching, and yet horrifying love story, which can only be compared to Phantom by Susan Kay,but also managed to make it a Gothic tale with symbolism and double meaning all around. This is a book to be read many times, and understood deeply. I was 16 when I've read it for the first time, and since then I reread it for countless number of times, and each time I discovered something new. It helped me to grow emotionally. In this story, "physical" true love is lifted above our world, ad turned into something more spiritual. The bond between heathcliff and Cathy was so strong that it conquered death. A greatest love story of all time. A must-read for anyone.

Wuthering Heights is one of oldest romance novels and stands as a classic in litterature history.
All through the book you will meet great contrasts that to a certain extent can explain the actions. Wuthering heights is the land of storm and wilderness compared to the quiet and more passive Thruscross Grange where one might think it's more appropriate for children to grow up. The Earnshaw family lives on Wuthering Heights while the Linton family is from Thruscross Grange. When those two contrasts meets with the children of these two families, the conflicts starts. Catherine and Heathcliff are drawn to eachother from the begining and their passion is powerful and destructive. There's love, hate and suffering, but written in a poetic somewhat advanced language and it's echanting how you get caught up with this book.
Sad is it that Emily Brontë died the year after its publication at the age of thirty... But with this novel and her poems, she is one of the most well known female English writers of the 18th century.
You will surely miss out on something great by not reading this book. I warmly recommend Wuthering Heights to everyone who loves to read. It is truly a unique piece of writing!

This is one book I've read over and over again, to understand how it appears to other people. Whomsoever have I met consider it to be rude and strange at first. What this book means to me is unsurpassed literature. It depicts rough love- a love that is as wild as the moors of England. Wuthering Heights breeds initself a "horror of darkness", we sometimes breathe in our lives. The love existing between Heathcliff- the most loved villians of all time and Catherine stands strong. This book is about a stranger entering a household where he is rejected, and during this course betrays the one solitary feling in his heart- not being his love for Catherine, but compassion. The other half of the story reaches a point where Heathcliff takes his sweet revenge. There are no answers to questions like: Should a character like Heathcliff exist or not? I do not know. This is a masterpiece in literature depicting love, innocence lost, friendship, forgiveness and above all acceptance. Unfortunately, this was the first and last book of Emily Bronte. Wish there were more novels like this one!

Skeleton in the Closet was a poor rendering of the causes and effects of an eating disorder. Besides the frequent grammatical errors and inconsistent style the book never manages to offer any original insight on eating disorders on either a personal or cultural level. The dialogue is confusing and the descriptions are given in a childlike, colorless manner. The author at one point even referred to an African-American nurse as a "colored lady," an outdated and offensive reference. For a book on this subject that is both explicative and emotional try Wasted by Marya Hornbacher and skip this one.

The book is terrific! I couldn't put it down! It was as if I experienced what the author went through. I recommend it to others suffering from an eating disorder, as well as for their families.

A wonderful story about a woman with an eating disorder. It takes the reader back into the woman's childhood, where it all began. This book allows the reader to feel and experience what she went through. I want to thank the author for finally making sense of something that is a mystery to many.