Susanne Dunlap

The Courtesan’s Daughter is the story of the bond between a mother and her child most of all. It’s a very compelling tale with two strong female protagonists; one looking forwards in hope and one looking backwards in fear.

New York City in 1910 is not exactly hospitable for two poor females but Sylvie and Justine are making it work. Justine does piece work as a seamstress and works hard to allow Sylvie to go to school and get an education so she can advance out of this life. In her spare time Sylvie helps her mother but she longs to be an actress on the screen, not the teacher her mother wants her to be.

With the help of a young man she barely knows Sylvie gets her wish but it doesn’t fulfill her dreams, only brings her pain. As women have known for time immemorial, men hold the power and they will use it. Sylvie is now also keeping secrets from her mother.

Will she find that it is all worth it or is the world she was so desperate to enter not quite the storybook land she thought it would be? Do dreams come true? Especially for girls like Sylvie.

This was a very compelling read and one that kept me turning the pages from the beginning. I didn’t want to put it down and the only thing that made me was having to go to sleep. The book was finished over the course of two days and I wanted to find out how these two women fared.

It was certainly not an easy time in history and things were going to get worse before they got better. Sylvie’s story shows the strength of dreams and the force of a desire to do what one wants in the face of familial opposition. A story for any and all generations for sure. It made for a tale full of ups, downs, love, sorrow and ultimately triumph. I am happy I had the chance to read it.

I received a free copy in exhange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.… (más)

Entertaining read about the film industry and New York in the first decades of the twentieth century. Teenager Sylvie has always done as her mother has asked. School during the day with the chance to get a scholarship to become a teacher and then piecework after school to help her mother earn income. They are surviving in the Lower East Side but barley. It is a place of poverty and Sylvie is starting to have dreams of her own. Seeing the Vitagraph girl everywhere, from the new moving pictures that have come about, Sylvie could only dream to become someone like her. So vibrant, and beautiful and her face everywhere for everyone to love and want to see. Her life to become a teacher so far is her only real chance to be something, until she meets a boy at church who just may have the connections she needs to become a Vitagraph girl. Being quite innocent and unknown to the dangers of what lurks in the real world, Sylvie quickly gets wrapped up with this boy and soon her life changes in the most drastic and unknown way. Excited to possibly have her dream come true, Sylvie is also sacrificing everything her mother had her work for and now has secrets of her own to keep. And she learns that the Vitagraph world is not as glamorous and perfect as it appear and learns she is not the only one who is keeping secrets. I really enjoyed this storyline and did not know that filming was happening in New York during this time. Thank you to HFVBT for the invite and to the author for the free novel. This review is of my own opinion and accord.… (más)

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard strives to be an artist. However, in 18th century France with an unsupportive husband, that is a difficult task. Adélaïde takes care of the husband part by separating from him and taking instruction from François André Vincent at the Louvre. Already an accomplished pastelist, Adélaïde develops her painting skills and becomes one of the first women to show at Salons and be accepted to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. Adélaïde still struggled financially and decided to take up female students, furthering the acceptance of women as artists. Just when it seems that Adélaïde has been accepted into the higher ranks of artists with royal commissions, the Royal family falls from grace and the Revolution begins.

Based on the real Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, The Portraitist brings to light the story of passion, struggle and talent in 18th century France. From the beginning of the story as Adélaïde separates from her husband and finds her way to gain instruction in painting, I could sense her fierce determination. The writing drew me into the world of the artists, the Salons and the disparities of pre-Revolutionary France. I was amazed at the strength Adélaïde had to forge through with her dreams, especially with her economic situation. I was equally interested in the other woman artist, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun who was accepted in the artists world at the same time as Adélaïde and were seen as rivals. I do wonder what would have happened if they joined forces rather than competed. I was amazed at Adélaïde's creativity for finding funds by creating erotic art. It's too bad that this probably isn't true. The Revolution changed a lot for Adélaïde, it seems she was able to live her life more comfortably, but never regained her traction as an artist. Overall, an important story of an overlooked female artist.

This story was received for free in return for an honest review.
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Voices in the Mist takes place in one of my favored time periods for historical fiction. I have read a number of novels that tell the stories of the Cathars – the first one having ignited a curiosity about a peoples I had not learned about in my studies. This lead me to read more and more as I find their stories fascinating. When presented with a novel involving them I snap it up! This tale did not disappoint.

Bruna is a young converso, just on the cusp of womanhood who learns that the Inquisition is coming for all of her people – particularly the young women. To protect her a marriage is arranged but she does not want this so she runs and finds herself attached to of all things, a pilgrimage to Compostela. Here she needs to be careful for she cannot be who she really is but cannot help but be herself. All is going reasonably well until her group is joined by another and she catches the eye of an important man and someone else recognizes her.

I read this book as we were crossing the country from Montana to Vermont. It was a perfect book to read in the car; great characters, an involving plot and enough twists and turns to keep me entertained as the cornfields whipped by. I was so thrilled to have a good book for the time sped as the miles passed. It was a gift.… (más)