Book Review: “The Fortunes of Captain Blood,” by Rafael Sabatini

Genre: historical fiction; adventure

Playlist…

Plot Summary: The adventures of Captain Blood—gentleman doctor, turned rebel– continue to exasperate fellow pirates and the Spanish Main!

My Book Review: My enjoyable experiences with the first two Captain Blood books (Captain Blood; Captain Blood Returns) led me to the third and final installment of the trilogy by Rafael Sabatini.  As it was with #2 in the series, the short story adventures of #3 take place within the time frame of #1.

However, I was a little disappointed in this one.  The exploits are still witty and exciting, but I could have done with more sword fighting, battle scenes, and tales of Blood’s comrades.  Instead we get much more solo adventures of Peter Blood and how he cleverly navigates the upper hand in various situations such as freeing a slave, seeking revenge, or helping damsels out of their distresses.  Books 2 and 3 could have been better if they’d featured Blood’s love interest, Arabella.  But they do include other females of both good and ill repute that provide some feminine interest.

One troubling issue was that although enslaved whites in the Caribbean (political prisoners) were viewed as a terrible thing by the Captain, blacks in slavery did not seem to bother him or effect the same kind of sympathy.  I would have liked to have seen his abhorrence toward ALL slavery.

The Peter Blood books all contain much swearing, but the author keeps us from hearing the worst of it.  The Captain is always chivalrous and considers himself as answering to a higher moral code than most other seafaring rapscallions or government authorities.  This particular book contained five or six short stories (lengthy chapters).  It was hard to determine which story was my favorite, as each one seemed just as interesting as the last.  However, it did become difficult to keep all the different villains straight and I would often forget who characters were from one chapter to the next.  I’m sure in a few months, I won’t remember any of it—but the best part of the adventures was the exciting atmosphere itself!

This book will complete your Peter Blood-lust.  Unfortunately, it just wasn’t as great as the preceding books.

 

Book Review: “Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Thief,” by Maurice LeBlanc

Genre: classic; adventure; mystery

Plot Summary: [from goodreads:] “The suave adventures of a gentleman rogue—a French Thomas Crown Created by Maurice LeBlanc during the early twentieth century, Arsene Lupin is a witty confidence man and burglar, the Sherlock Holmes of crime. The poor and innocent have nothing to fear from him; often they profit from his spontaneous generosity. The rich and powerful, and the detective who tries to spoil his fun, however, must beware. They are the target of Arsene’s mischief and tomfoolery. A masterful thief, his plans frequently evolve into elaborate capers, a precursor to such cinematic creations as Ocean’s Eleven and The Sting. Sparkling with amusing banter, these stories—the best of the Lupin series—are outrageous, melodramatic, and literate.”

My Book Review: This series grabbed my attention on Librivox a while back.  I wasn’t expecting too much out of them, but I at least wanted to try the first book, “…Gentleman-Thief”.  Each chapter is basically its own standalone short story featuring the hero (or antihero) Arsene Lupin.  I tend not to like short stories, but I was surprised by how delightfully colorful and entertaining these were!  They all kept me guessing and contained much cleverness and wit.  Is it really him, or not him, or him pretending to not be him pretending to be him?  How will he get out of that pickle in time… or did he plan the pickle and is already gone… or was he there all the time?  I second guessed myself until the last page of each story!

It was a bit hard for me to conquer the long chapters, but I pushed myself.  The copy I read was a Penguin edition which had annotated notes in the back for lots of references and cross references in Le Blanc’s stories.  I started to read them, but then felt they gave away too many surprises for later in the book and series.

I will definitely be continuing with more Arsene Lupin books.  If you’re looking for something a little different, if you love roguish, daring characters, if you’re looking for adventures in France—I think you’ll enjoy this read.

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If you liked this book, I also recommend…

 

Fairy Tales Retold

Listen on BBC Radio 4 for a limited time to free short story readings of various fairy tales!  The retellings are slightly different, and the narrator Lia Williams is interesting to listen to.  I recommend “The Gingerbread Business” (Hansel and Gretel), but there is also “Sleeping Beauty Wakes Up,” and more to be released within the next couple of weeks.  Have a fun holiday season!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS (stories)!

I hope everyone has themselves a merry little Christmas!  It doesn’t have to big, it doesn’t have to bright, it doesn’t have to be loud.  But I do hope it is merry, and that we ponder it in our hearts.

Chris Fabry did a recent program with past recordings of Christmas stories narrated by Mike Kellogg.  I thought I’d post it here for us to enjoy together.

 

P.L. Travers Christmas story on BBC

I came across a beautifully dramatized Christmas story on BBC this afternoon, originally written as a short story by P. L. Travers.  It’s called “The Fox at the Manger” and the voices and music are lovely to listen to.  Actress Wendy Hiller lends voice as the narrator.  It would make a great bedtime story for children this holiday season.  It is available for a limited time only.

 

Merry Christmas! Used Book Finds

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas holiday just as much as I am!

I wanted to update my latest batch of random used book finds.  Most of these were gotten for FREE or an ave. of 11cents each.  🙂  As you see, there are some good Christmas ones, as well as appropriate books for New Year’s.  As always, click on each book to read my comments and for links.

 

 

BBC Audiobook: Winnie-the-Pooh

What do heffalumps, woozles, birthday parties, and very tight places all have in common?  Why Winnie-the-Pooh of course!  And autumn is the perfect time to settle in for the evening with some classic Pooh-bear stories read by Alan Bennett.  So grab your children, grandma and grandpa, too and get ready to go on an expotition!  Only available for a limited time.

 

 

BBC audio: Beatrix Potter Tales!

What a great time of year to listen to some cozy classic animal tales by Miss Potter!  For a limited time, you can listen to many of the well-beloved tales read by the wonderful voices of Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, and others.  Click on the picture links below!

“The Tale of Mr. Tod”

 

“The Tale of Ginger & Pickles” & “The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse”

 

“The Tale of Samuel Whiskers” & “The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies”

 

“The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck” & “The Tale of Tom Kitten”

 

“The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan” & “The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher”

 

“The Tale of Benjamin Bunny” & “The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle”

 

“The Tailor of Gloucester” & “The Tale of Two Bad Mice”

 

“The Tale of Peter Rabbit” & “The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The Heart of Princess Osra, by Anthony Hope

Genre: classic; adventure; romance

Plot Summary: These are the stories of the men who fall in love with the red-haired  Princess Osra, unequaled in beauty throughout the little fictional European kingdom of Ruritania.  Who will win the fair hand of the princess when her father the king and brother, Prince Rudolph, are intent on executing those they deem unfit for her?

My Book Review:  Many years back I watched the movie The Prisoner of Zenda (Stuart Granger and Deborah Kerr version) and absolutely loved it!  I must have rewatched it 3 times within a week.  I’ve always wanted to read the book, but later I learned it is the second in a trilogy.  So The Heart of Princess Osra was my foray into this series by Anthony Hope (his full name was Anthony Hope Hawkins).

This light and fun novel fully satisfied my love of melodramatic adventures!  It actually is a collection of short stories, all bound by the common theme of one man after another falling in love with the Princess Osra and what each one’s fate is.  Some are killed off by her father and brother, some are banned from the country, another commits suicide…  There is a lot of sighing and swooning and sword fighting.  That might not appeal to some, but I didn’t mind.  It read like an old-fashioned black and white film and was just plain fun!

It was interesting see how each man conducted himself with Osra, as they are all different.  Some are selfless and put her honor and reputation before their very lives.  Others start out self-seeking, but are changed through knowing the Princess.  The princess herself is a good-hearted person, but not perfect and is not free from vanity and pride.  This keeps us from thoroughly gagging on sugary-sweetness otherwise.  I have to mention that this novel is completely Victorian and oftentimes unrealistic.  Men cheerfully throw their lives away on a whim for this maiden.  Rather than take it too seriously, I just laughed and turned the page to see what happens next.

About the only thing I didn’t like was since each chapter is a tale in and of itself, they are each very long.  I don’t relish long chapters or long books or long anything, so I got a little antsy finishing it.

There are nine chapters, and so at least 9 different male characters who serve as love interests for the Princess.  The early 1910 edition I read had black and white illustrations, but I didn’t much care for them.  So it was fun trying to imagine what each hero (or sometimes villain) looked like.  Here is what my imagination came up with while reading:

 

Luke Evans as the Miller of Hofbau

Jamie Dornan as the Marquis de Merosailles

Karl Urban as Stephen the Smith

Mel Gibson as the Grand Duke of Mittenheim

Thomas Gibson as the Prince of Glottenberg

Edward Petherbridge as Lord Harry Culverhouse

Aidan Turner as Christian the Highwayman

Colin Firth as Giraldo the Painter

Christian Bale as the Bishop of Modenstein

You’ll have to read the book to see which of these guys wins the Princess’ heart (and how)!  This book is for those who want a light, silly read full of adventure and romance. You don’t have to worry about sex scenes (in fact there is only kissing in the last chapter if you don’t count the times gentlemen kiss a lady’s hand).  Just pretend you’re watching a black and white film and I’m sure it will be entertaining!

 

Midday Book Club: Grace at Bender Springs

Don’t forget Midday Connection’s YouPick Book Club discussion of the book, “Grace at Bender Springs,” by Vinita Hampton Wright on Dec. 3 at 12 pm CT.  You can listen to it live by clicking here, or post-airdate here.  This is a book I decided not to read for myself, but I love listening to the discussions anyway!