Eleanor by Alice Loxton

How about some more walk books? When I was eight or nine, I remember being enthralled reading about the journeys of Marco Polo. Much later, I reveled in Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.  That one even had a movie starring Robert Redford made about it. And then, there was the pride and lost shoe leather that goes with putting together the two editions of my own book--London Theatre Walks. It should not be surprising then that my eyes perked up when this title appeared on the new publication shelf at the Marion library.

Eleanor, by British writer Alice Loxton, is subtitled “A 200 mile walk in search of England’s Lost Queen.” In 1290, when Eleanor of Castile not Aquitaine, the wife of England’s King Edward I died, her embalmed body was carried from Lincoln to London before its burial in Westminster Abbey. At each of the twelve overnight stopping places on the route, her devoted husband decreed that a stone cross be built to commemorate the journey. Few of these so-called “Eleanor Crosses” have survived, but Loxton put on a stout pair of boots and decided to make an on-foot pilgrimage along the entire cortege route. Her impressions of the towns she passed through, their ancient and current history, the people who accompanied her or met on the way, and the English weather she faced because it was December in the midlands, make for a sort of modern Canterbury Tales. There is trial and tribulation, flooding and sunshine, humor, and above all, a fine historical portrait of an almost forgotten Queen. You can even enjoy this book if you aren’t a history buff, because it is filled with some lovely fellow hikers and quirky citizens of the mainly small towns along the way. One little nugget I remember was about the two rival inns in a tiny town called Stony Stratford (a place where a bridge of stones forded the river Strat). It had two rival inns across from each other on the high street. One was called the Cock and the other the Bull.  Both were hotspots for local gossip and each became famous for their, sometimes wild, embellishments of the stories. Thus, we have the true origin of “a cock and bull story.” Can’t leave without noting that the photo reproduction is pretty shabby, but the book is blister-free.

I give it a four out of 5.

Book of Forbidden Words by Louise Fine

 

Book of Forbidden Words by Louise Fine

Book of Forbidden Words by Louise FineThe Book of Forbidden Words is what I would label a Cozy, Dan Brownish, mystery, romance.  Ms. Fine tells her story in alternate chapters that move back and forth between Paris in the 1500’s and Levittown NY, during the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and McCarthy Red Scares of the 1950’s. Her choice of times quickly reveals her theme--the continuing problematic status of women throughout the ages.    

In the sixteenth century, Paris was aflame with book burning and heretic hunting as Protestant ideas were spread via the new medium of printed books. A former nun, Lysbette Angiers, brings a revolutionary manuscript written in a strange code to the printing establishment run by another woman--Charlotte Guillard. Angiers is brutally murdered shortly after she turns the manuscript over and the female printer comes under suspicion of printing heretical material.

In New York in 1952, Milly Bennett, an English war bride, is having a hard time adjusting to her role as an American housewife. Her husband, who was an American pilot in the war, is now a successful businessman who departs each day from their Levittown house, leaving Milly at home to keep house, shepherd the children, interact with other local housewives, and provide dinner for the family when he returns each evening.

A complication develops when a strange older man turns up bearing a 16^th manuscript that is beautifully illustrated but written in a strange code. We now learn that Milly was a math whiz, who was recruited to Bletchley Park to help break the German codes during the war. The visitor catches the eyes of neighbors and Milly calls him an old relation because the British Official Secrets Act still prohibits her from mentioning anything about her war activity. The visitor is actually her former commanding officer at Bletchley, who is now an antique bookseller. He wants Milly to use her old skills to decipher an old manuscript written in a code. Milly jumps at the opportunity to alleviate her current boredom. She is successful and the knowledge leads her into a writing career under an assumed name. It doesn’t take long for her identity to be discovered and that turns into more serious problems with America’s McCarthyites.   

The author’s evocation of American life (She is a Brit.) is not completely convincing, but she does do a good job of connecting the status of intelligent women in multiple ages. The explanations of code breaking are well done without being overly technical and the style is   straightforward without much color or imagery. All told good, but far from great.

I give it a 3 out of 5.