Tea & Read: She Walks in Beauty

Title: She Walks in Beauty
Author: Siri Mitchell
Rating: Two Cups of Tea

Blurb:
For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city's most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work--there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity's spotlight turns Clara into a society-page darling. Yet Clara soon wonders if this is the life she really wants. Especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it's not just her marriage at stake--the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.

Siri Mitchell has proven herself to be a versatile writer. I was first introduced to her with her contemporary fiction, Moon over Tokyo, Chateau of Echoes and The Cubicle Next Door. Chateau of Echoes gave me a glimpse of the fact that Mitchell could write historicals, and she delivered with A Constant Heart and I was hooked.

She Walks in Beauty, another historical, has several great things going for it. First, it is a Victorian novel, but it’s set in New York City instead of the traditional England. But the same traditions and customs rule. This story is just as Victorian, with all its beauty and grace. Victorian on American soil gave the book a unique slant that I’d not seen in Victorian novels.

Second, Mitchell captivates with wonderful characters. Clara is a striking character, the type of character I tend to gravitate to. She goes against the grain of what is expected of her. I love her reactions to social requirements, which are very close to what my own reaction would be. I also enjoyed the tension created between Clara and Lily and the unexpected character of the DeVries Heirs. And, in the tradition of overbearing Victorian women, Clara’s aunt plays her part perfectly.

Third, as in all her books, Mitchell has done her research and it shows. I often found myself just as perplexed as Clara in learning some of the social customs. I particularly found the custom of “cutting” (which means something totally different from a girl from Baltimore) interesting. Clara’s education in social graces proved amusing and gave great insight into Clara’s world.

My only complaint is that there were a couple of loose ends that I felt needed to be cleared up. I would have like to have heard more about Clara’s mother and her father’s work. There was also three other characters in the book, Katherine Mr. Douglas and Ms. Miller. But the book is solid and a great read overall.

My Life in Stitches: Multitasking

I’m not a fan of audiobooks. I’m completely in love with paper books, the feel of the pages between my fingers. I always find it amusing when I read experts predicting that paper books will soon be a thing of the past. If given the choice, I’ll choose paper over audiobooks every time. I plan to singlehandedly keep print books in business.

Not that I’ve had listen to a bunch of audiobooks. As a matter of fact, I’ve only listened to one, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. My children and I were on our way to Corolla, NC for Thanksgiving. I needed something to keep me alert on the long drive. One of my sons had the book on his iPod and so I gave it a shot. It turned out to be ok, but it wasn’t an experience I wanted to repeat—the long car drive or the audiobook. But I had a change a heart brought on something totally unrelated to books or my paper preference: multitasking.

As much as I don’t like audiobooks, I love multitasking. It drives me crazy to only do one thing at a time. If I’m writing, I have to have music going. If I’m talking on the phone, I’m normally sweeping or folding laundry. But, when I’m knitting, that’s all I can do. I can watch TV but I’m bound to make mistakes. Of course I can listen to music, but that’s something I do all the time. Knitting, although I love it, requires single-tasking or lots of tinking (removing stitches by reverse knitting).

So when a woman in a knitting group I’m a part of mentioned that she listens to audiobooks while she knitting, a light bulb came on. Audiobooks would allow me to do multitask and combine two of favorite things: books and knitting. Also, it allows me to take advantage of the audiobook service my library offers. (And as a public service announcement: Please take advantage of your library services. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.)

So right now I’m listening to In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols. So far so good. And I’m making progress on the baby blanket. And for the sake of multitasking, I’ll deal with not holding a paper book.

My Life in Stitches: Back in Stiches

I’ve picked up knitting again. Miss Ola, my two best friends’ grandmother, taught me how when I was a child. I remember sitting days in their kitchen, trying to knit and purl and talking to my friends. It was one of those experiences that you have but your young mind can’t comprehend its importance.

As far as I was concerned, Miss Ola was my grandmother. I didn’t get a chance to get close to my grandmothers; one of them died when I was still in my early teens and the other lived several states away. I didn’t realize how precious that grandmother time with Miss Ola was or how much it would mean to me later in life.

Knitting was the first craft I learned. As an adult, my husband taught me how to crochet, which turned out to be very valuable while I was on bed rest with my second son. But I always found myself daydreaming about picking up my knitting skills again, always commenting that knit patterns looked better than crochet.

Finally, about a year and a half ago, I pulled out my knitting needles and started working on a scarf. And I’m glad I did. It’s been very rewarding and I’ve taught my family how to knit. Remember I said I didn’t realize how meaningful my moments with Miss Ola? Well, now I do. She, even though she’s gone to heaven now, is still impacting lives and making my family better. Thanks Miss Ola.