The Waynes of Wood Mount

This is a three-book series by Elizabeth Cadell about the Wayne family and their friends, focusing on relationships, with light romance thrown in.  The publishes states that these books stand alone, but I feel that they should be read together, in order, to best appreciate the characters.

The Lark Shall Sing (1955) 4/5 stars
The Blue Sky of Spring (1956) 4/5 stars

Six Impossible Things (1961)  3/5 stars

In the first book, The Lark Shall Sing, the Wayne family of six siblings (aged 24 down to 7) is introduced.  They've been orphaned, and were scattered around the country for a year.  Lucille, the eldest, has decided to sell the family home, Wood Mount, and her two sisters and three brothers are horrified.  They descend on Lucille, to beg to stay at Wood Mount as a family.  What follows is a sweet tale of family relationships, lightly romantic, gently humorous, and fully enjoyable.  

The Blue Sky of Spring follows the oldest brother, Nicholas, the woman he loves, and an American stranger.  Again, it's a gentle book about relationships -- friendship, romance, family -- with an interesting and not fully predictable plot.  The Waynes are charming and their situations heart-touching, and the book is completely entertaining.

In Six Impossible Things, Julia, the youngest sister, returns from studying abroad, a local friend is getting married, and a stranger involves the Waynes in her attempt to break up from a controlling and vindictive fiancé.  The result is an appealing, mostly lighthearted story of romance, friendship, and connections, but one not as substantial and griping as the previous two in the series.

November 2023 Wrap-Up

Books Read:

The Riddles of Hildegarde Withers by Stuart Palmer (1947)  3/5 stars
I've read the first of the Miss Withers mysteries, and enjoyed it in general.  This is a set of average short stories, and I don't think that she and her friend Inspector Piper show up to their best advantage here.  

The Man of Dangerous Secrets by (Margery Allingham writing as) Maxwell March (1933)  3/5 stars

The far-fetched plot was often ridiculous, but managed to be mostly entertaining, though slow at times.

Fishy, Said the Admiral by Elizabeth Cadell (1947)  4/5 stars

This is a delightful and entertaining novel of family and friend relationships, wrapped around a light romance, and filled with a good deal of charm.  I certainly enjoyed it.

Audiobooks Read:

To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World by Arthur Herman (1975)  5/5 stars

This is a stupendously good history of the British Navy, well-written, intelligent, easily accessible, and totally engrossing.  I highly recommend it!

An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew by Annejet van der Zijl, translated by Michele Hutchison  (2015)  3/5 stars

This promised to be an interesting book, based on the summation of Tew's life in the blurb, but it was spoiled by historical misconceptions (and even some inaccuracies), poor writing (or translation?), and the fact that the author made the men in Tew's life the focus, with her as a sort of side character. It was, overall, quite disappointing.

A World Beneath the Sands: The Golden Age of Egyptology by Toby Wilkinson (2020)  4/5 stars

This is a fascinating account of the British, German, and French attempts to gain Egyptian artifacts, beginning with Napoleon's Egyptian campaign through to Carter's discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922.  Wilkinson writes well and presents his information in an accessible fashion and, in addition, makes the characters and situations come alive.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.