Middle Sister's January Reads

I may have only read two books in January, but both were long (that's okay) and very good (that's great).

Valley Forge by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin This recently published historical tome is an excellent look at one of the Revolutionary War's most famous episodes, the winter at Valley Forge. I was there as a child, and the images are still seared in my memory. That may be why I've always been intrigued by this particular historical subject. Drury and Clavin's masterpiece is a well researched and engagingly written look at the circumstances leading up to the winter at Valley Forge; the political, social, and economic landscapes and effects; and both the colonial and British experiences. Plenty of footnotes and maps detailing the military skirmishes furnish extra details that this reader loved. Highly recommended.

Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant My suggestion for my book group's January/February novel was a little slow moving, but well written. I could see antecedents of my favorite novelist, E.F. Benson, and the fictional world of Lucia in Lucinda Marjoribanks and  Carlingford, albeit with a much gentler tone. The beginning was slow going, I will admit, but I am glad I hung there, as the last two-thirds of the book moved more quickly. There were two plots devices I didn't anticipate, and while my reactions to each were very different, upon retrospect, they enhanced the novel. Recommended.