Friedrichsburg by Friedrich Armand Strubberg, translated, annotated, and illustrated by James C. Kearney
This book caught my eye at my local public library because it's about Fredericksburg, Texas, the German-settled town where my parents retired to 30 years ago, in 1994, and lived happily for almost 20 years. This novel, originally written and published in Germany in 1867 under a title that roughly translates to Friedrichsburg: Colony of the German Furstenverein, was translated, annotated, and illustrated by James C. Kearney as part of his dissertation in 2010 for a Ph.D. in German and history from the University of Texas - Austin.
The author of the original, Dr. Friedrich Armand Strubberg, actually served as the first colonial director of Fredericksburg, in 1846 and 1847, under his alias surname Schubbert, before returning to Germany in 1854, where he then wrote fiction and nonfiction. Schubbert is one of the main characters of the book (often referred to simply as "the director"), which is very much a fictional account of the early years of the real Fredericksburg, with some grains of truth.
This book caught my eye at my local public library because it's about Fredericksburg, Texas, the German-settled town where my parents retired to 30 years ago, in 1994, and lived happily for almost 20 years. This novel, originally written and published in Germany in 1867 under a title that roughly translates to Friedrichsburg: Colony of the German Furstenverein, was translated, annotated, and illustrated by James C. Kearney as part of his dissertation in 2010 for a Ph.D. in German and history from the University of Texas - Austin.
The author of the original, Dr. Friedrich Armand Strubberg, actually served as the first colonial director of Fredericksburg, in 1846 and 1847, under his alias surname Schubbert, before returning to Germany in 1854, where he then wrote fiction and nonfiction. Schubbert is one of the main characters of the book (often referred to simply as "the director"), which is very much a fictional account of the early years of the real Fredericksburg, with some grains of truth.
Besides the director, other main characters are Rudolph von Wildhorst and his bride-to-be Ludwina Nimanski, as well as their fathers, all four of which are fictional. Many other characters are based on real people, such as the Delaware Indian chief Youngbear (the historical Jim Shaw); Kateumsi and Santa Anna, Penateka Comanche war chiefs; and John Grey (the historical Lyman Wight), leader of a group of Mormans who settled in various places in Texas, including the community of Zodiac, about four miles down the Pedernales River from Fredericksburg. Not mentioned at all in the book is John Muesebach, who hired (and fired) Strubberg, and was the one who negotiated the peace treaty with the Penateka Comanche that is part of the novel.
Kearney does an excellent job, in his thorough introduction and end notes, identifying what is true and what is not in Strubberg's novel. The book also includes a glossary (particularly of German words used in the novel), an extensive list of works cited, an index, and a chronological bibliography of all the first edition books by Strubberg, ten of which are set in Texas.
Some of the action in the book is melodramatic, and the language is flowery and excessive (typical of the period when it was written), but the story is entertaining, and it's a good depiction of the early years of Fredericksburg, where my parents chose to be buried. I'm glad I read it.
The Maid by Kimberly Cutter
The Maid is a fictionalized biography of St. Joan of Arc. Like many, I'd heard of Joan of Arc, the girl who dressed as a boy and fought for France, but I knew very little about her life. Author Kimberly Cutter tells the story mainly from the viewpoint of Joan (both third-person and first-person). Joan is called Jehanne in the book, the time-appropriate Middle French version of her name. Later in the book, she is often referred to as La Pucelle, the maid (that is, a virgin).
In her author's note at the end, Cutter notes that "almost everything" in the book is true. "Almost all of the characters are real people, and the book adheres closely to the established historical facts surrounding Joan of Arc's life" (p. 281). She does identify situations where she took "novelistic license" (p. 282), but they are few. She cites many of her sources in her acknowledgments at the end.
I liked the way this book portrayed Joan as a human being, rather than a perfect saint. She has temptations and doubts, she makes mistakes and has regrets, and is not always a "good" person.
She faces some age-old problems that still exist today: "But it was clear to her that it was not really the battles she'd fought against the English and the Burgundians, or the boy's clothes, or even her voices that bothered Cauchon [the bishop who put her on trial for heresy] and his men. Ot was the fact that she would not submit to them....That she would not kneel down at their feet and declare them more mighty than God" (page 263).
And of course (from page 269): "She won't submit. That's why she must be killed. Won't submit to the Church, won't let them judge her revelations, won't accept the Church as her authority, won't abide by its rules. 'God must first be served,' she said, and this was the heart of it, the thing that drove them mad. The audacity. The gall. If a filthy peasant girls can talk to God, can receive divine wisdom, who needs the Church?"
Spit & Polish by DA Brown
I requested Spit & Polish from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program because I had an aunt who was in nursing school during World War II, and I am also a recently-retired librarian from a university that used to train nurses. The author, DA (Dorothyanne) Brown, is a retired nurse (albeit from a later time period), and did "extensive research to vividly illustrate the challenges of mid-century health care," according to the Early Reviewers blurb.
I was not disappointed with the history in this book, set in post-World-War-II Canada. Because of some early struggles in nursing school, the main character, Ruth, is assigned to the nearby tuberculosis ward in Kingston, Ontario.
It was fascinating to read about the treatments for tuberculosis (some almost barbaric) prior to the use of appropriate antibiotics. Brown has a two-page bibliography at the end of the advance reader edition, listing her sources.
A complaint I have about the book was a number of omitted words, particularly in some of the quotations in the advance reader edition I received. The citations for the quotations are inconsistent (some list author, some list title), and at least two are from sources not listed in the bibliography (which needs to be alphabetized). I hope the book undergoes a thorough proofreading before final publication.
Still, I learned a lot reading this book, and I would read another book about historic nursing by this author. I'd also like to read her Recycled Virgin - the title and premise are intriguing!
She'll Be the Sky: Poems by Women and Girls, edited by Ella Risbridger, illustrated by Anna Shepeta
This anthology is a collection of poems *by* women and girls - one as young as age five - as well as a non-binary poet and anonymous authors. It's important to note that the poems are not all *for* or all *about* women, which means the book is for everyone.
The 141-page book has 117 poems, as well as a lengthy introduction and afterword (four pages each) by anthologist Ella Risbridger. Each double-page spread has one to three poems and a single illustration by Anna Shepeta. There are three helpful indices at the back of the book - poems by title, author, and first line. The binding is sturdy, and there's even a ribbon marker.
The 141-page book has 117 poems, as well as a lengthy introduction and afterword (four pages each) by anthologist Ella Risbridger. Each double-page spread has one to three poems and a single illustration by Anna Shepeta. There are three helpful indices at the back of the book - poems by title, author, and first line. The binding is sturdy, and there's even a ribbon marker.
There were poems by authors familiar to me (most who wrote primarily for children), like Maya Angelou, Lucille Clifton, Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, Emily Dickinson, Eleanor Farjeon, Nikki Giovanni, Eloise Greenfield, Nikki Grimes, Lois Lenski, Amy Lowell, Eve Merriam, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Marilyn Nelson, Christina Rossetti, and Janet S. Wong.
However, there was only one poem I recognized: an extract from Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" (p. 31). Besides that one, others I liked were about historical figures: "From Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, to Gaius Seutonius Paullinus, on the Occasion of His Invasion," by Kirsten Irving (p. 46); "Rosa Parks," by Jan Dean (p. 50); "Harriet Tubman," by Eloise Greenfield (p. 52); "Like A Sun," about Queen Victoria, by Elli Woollard (p. 84); and "Malala," by Michaela Morgan (p. 127).
The book was originally published in Great Britain in 2022 under the title, And Everything Will Be Glad to See You. I think this book will be most appreciated by older children and students.
The book was originally published in Great Britain in 2022 under the title, And Everything Will Be Glad to See You. I think this book will be most appreciated by older children and students.
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