I hope everyone has some fun plans for the weekend. I now only have one more week of school and I am so excited to gain more reading time over the summer holidays.
My chosen poem today is by the American lyrical poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950).
Afternoon on a Hill
I will be the gladdest thing Under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers And not pick one.
I will look at cliffs and clouds With quiet eyes, Watch the wind bow down the grass, And the grass rise.
And when lights begin to show Up from the town, I will mark which must be mine, And then start down!
It’s 1949, the freedom granted women by the Second World War is over, and stifling social conventions are once more at play. Edith Sloan, the rebellious, well-educated heroine of An Open Door returns in The Hedgerow to pursue her dreams of owning a thriving bookstore on Harvard Square and establishing a poetry press to publish the silent and underserved. Free of her dreary marriage to Walter, she receives a proposal from Henry, a wealthy British peer and the man who made the purchase of her bookstore possible. When she accepts, is it from love or gratitude? Will being his wife help or hinder her plans? Edith soon finds herself at the intersection of free expression and censorship. Duty competes with desire, while serious endeavours are undermined by trivial pursuits. As she tries to balance the competing demands in her life, troubling facts from Henry’s past come to light. Edith also discovers that being a pioneer in publishing comes with consequences she hadn’t foreseen. The decade draws to a close and delivers one more surprise Edith must summon extraordinary courage to face.
Review
Firstly, a huge thank you to Mindbuck Media Book Publicity for sending me a free copy of this book for an honest review.
I was a little concerned when I first started this book as I hadn’t read the previous book but thankfully this concern was not warranted as I didn’t feel the book lacked anything because I hadn’t read the first book. This book is set predominantly in America in the year 1949 and shows the freedom that women now have because of the Second World War but also about the constraints a woman still faces in 1949.
The main character is Edith Sloan. I will be honest I admire Edith and I think she is great and her accomplishments are fantastic but I really wouldn’t be her friend. Edith has separated from her husband because of quite a few reasons but the big reason is that Walter wanted Edith to be the ideal wife for his career and didn’t care less about her needs or dreams of a career. So Edith now finds herself living with a British peer called Henry and she makes use of him. Henry helps Edith purchase her bookshop, he supports her and caters for her every need when she leaves Walter but this leads to Henry asking a question that Edith really does’t want to hear. Edith has plans, big plans for her bookshop and publishing company and she is not sure Henry fits into these plans.
The one I felt for in this book was poor Henry. Yes he had some bad traits, mainly due to his upbringing but he really loved Edith and when he really needs her she isn’t there. Henry has some problems which really become clear as the novel progresses and sadly he doesn’t have the support he needs. He does have Alistair his manservant though. Alistair has been there for Henry for years and years and seen Henry at his worst and best.
This is a beautifully written book and I loved Parrish’s writing style, her style really reminds me of Dorothy Whipple. It was a quiet little book which showed the struggles women of that period had to cope with and I loved the storyline. However, I didn’t like any of the characters. This is probably the first book I have loved but disliked the characters. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.
Anne Leigh Parrish lives in a forest in the South Sound Region of Washington State. She is the author of thirteen previously published book which include short stories, novels and poems. She has recently ventured into the art of photography.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I started the Diabetes Uk Step Challenge this week so my spare time has involved a lot of walking so far this week but I have managed a good bit of reading today as well.
What I am Currently Reading
I took a little break from these last week but today I have been completely absorbed with Lord of Chaos. Queens of the Age of Chivalry is plodding along nicely and I am learning loads!
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I will be honest and say I did struggle to get into this book but I’m glad I persevered. Review will follow soon.
What I Think I will Read Next
There are so many books that I want to read currently. I’m really hoping once teaching slows down I can get some real reading in.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
My chosen quote today is by the American Baptist minister, activist and political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968).
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
I had another really good month with my TBR list for June. I managed to finish two books off my June TBR and I’m half way through another. I’m useless with planned reading so I’m really pleased with this result. I did go slightly off track but overall I’m happy.
My planned reads for July are…
The Help – I’ve wanted to read this for a long time and I finally got a copy in June.
Klova – This book was sent to me by the publishers for an honest review.
House of Odysseus – 24 Books in 2024. Trying to reduce that TBR pile.
My reading in June was still not great but it was much better than previous months. I am really struggling with time this year but I am really hoping that during the summer holidays I might be able to read more.
I hope everyone has some good plans for the weekend. We have a quiet weekend planned where I’m hoping to get loads of reading done and catch up on some chores.
My chosen poem today is by the poet and essayist Danusha Lameris (1971).
Small Kindnesses
I've been thinking about the way, when you walk down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs to let you by. Or how strangers still say "bless you" when someone sneezes, a leftover from the Bubonic plague. "Don't die," we are saying. And sometimes, when you spill lemons from your grocery bag, someone else will help you pick them up. Mostly, we don't want to harm each other. We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot, and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder, and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let is pass. We have so little of each other, now. So far from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange. What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these fleeting temples we make together when we say, "Here, have my seat," "Go ahead - you first," "I like your hat."
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. We have had a glorious few days of weather but sadly I have been stuck indoors teaching so haven’t seen much of it.
My chosen quote for today is by the American novelist and Professor Emerita Maxine Hong Kingston (1940).
The Priory by Dorothy Whipple – This was the first book I read by Whipple and since reading it I have bought three other books by Whipple which I plan to read soon.
Them Old Bones by Astor Y Teller – This was an ARC for me but got me hooked on the series. I can’t recommend this series enough.
