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Review Date: 8/22/2010
Great MacLean--classic man vs. circumstances plot. I even like how it veers almost into Bond parody. Kind of cute. Also, quite a bit of the MacLean humor. Really a great read!
Review Date: 8/18/2010
Great royal fiction. From author's website:
"As a journalist reporting on the young Prince Charles, Heald inevitably found himself caught up in speculation about who the heir to the British throne would eventually marry. Most people supposed that the Prince would marry a true love and
live happily ever after. Heald, perhaps cynically, wondered what would happen if he married "the wrong girl". This novel is based on that premise and though written before the world at large knew about Lady Diana it turned out to be horribly prescient."
"Caroline R has everything needed in a bestseller: a double surprise ending, led up to by a plot of steadily increasing tension; an abundance of human interest; a familiar but disconcerting setting; and a subject in which only the inhabitants of Outer Mongolia are not interested."
"As a journalist reporting on the young Prince Charles, Heald inevitably found himself caught up in speculation about who the heir to the British throne would eventually marry. Most people supposed that the Prince would marry a true love and
live happily ever after. Heald, perhaps cynically, wondered what would happen if he married "the wrong girl". This novel is based on that premise and though written before the world at large knew about Lady Diana it turned out to be horribly prescient."
"Caroline R has everything needed in a bestseller: a double surprise ending, led up to by a plot of steadily increasing tension; an abundance of human interest; a familiar but disconcerting setting; and a subject in which only the inhabitants of Outer Mongolia are not interested."
Review Date: 8/16/2010
This is one of my favorite Betty Neels. Charity marries Tyco to help take care of his twin little girls. Very sweet!
Review Date: 8/22/2010
Harlequin #2363
Amnesia romance set in Africa. A little too much wildlife for me, though.
Amnesia romance set in Africa. A little too much wildlife for me, though.
Review Date: 8/22/2010
I think I first read this in junior high. That's when I started reading MacLean. I think it's hilarious that for the movie, they changed Dusty Miller to being British, instead of American as he was written. Usually it's the other way around in books-to-films. Anyway, the classic story is really quite tense and it's one of those great, long-lost "ripping yarns." Bravo!
The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
8
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
8
Review Date: 8/17/2010
Helpful Score: 1
Fascinating, in-depth look at how Roald Dahl (yes, THAT Roald Dahl) was part of a British Intelligence team in wartime Washington, D.C. tasked with forwarding British interests in government and diplomatic circles. The gang included Ian Fleming and David Ogilvy--lots of interesting behind-the-scenes stories! Also brings out how Dahl met his future wife Patricia Neal and became somewhat Americanized during his stay. In my opinion, it doesn't show Dahl in a very flattering light--he comes off as the brilliant but insufferably arrogant 20-something he was--but it does shed light on his early career and personal contacts. You can't make this stuff up!
Review Date: 8/22/2010
Excellent overview of why films don't have to be dead-on accurate to be a successful "historical" film. Great cinema studies book!
Review Date: 8/22/2010
Like other reviewers, also read this in junior high. It really impacted me, probably because of the first-person true narrative. I loved the Dutch couple and the grandma. So feisty! But it was scary to read; I remember being tense. I don't remember much about the sequel, "The Journey Back." Not as much drama, I guess. I recently read her adult memoir of revisiting Johan and Dientje in the Netherlands with her own children. It didn't flow very well for me, although it was quite moving. It confirms that they had really become almost foster parents for Annie as a child. Not so much Sini, though. Reiss speculates on whether or not Sini and Johan had an affair while they were in hiding, but decides not to ask Sini about it. Yikes!
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