Category Archives: review

Brantford news, review, What's new

Thursday night’s reading of The Maid by Nita Prose

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The Thursday night Reading group read The Maid by Nita Prose, a Canadian mystery writer in Toronto.
“I am your maid. I am the one who cleans your hotel room, who enters like a phantom when you are out gallivanting for the day, no care at all for what you left behind the mess or what I might see when you are gone.” Molly maid, Regency Grand Hotel.
What if, what’s left behind is a dead body? What follows are the twists and turns of a murder mystery. Within the group of possibilities group of possibilities are an unhappy family and the staff of the Regency — not the least is Molly herself who discovers the dead body. This is a delightful mystery full of interesting characters, relationships of staff and guests in a big hotel and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the end. Both Thursday night groups enjoyed the book which led to a lively discussion.

Brantford news, review, What's new

The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid #2) — very good!

5/5 stars from Marsha S!

So nice to have dear Molly the maid back to solve a new murder at the Grand Hotel. Molly’s unique way of looking at the world is her blessing and curse and readers can’t help but root for her as she overturns tropes (the maid did it …. she’s just a maid … she’s not very bright) as quickly as she can make a bed. The characters in this novel are deliciously Dickensian and the key to the murder is in Molly’s childhood. Satisfying and cozy. This mystery is the perfect companion to a warm fire and a good cup of tea.

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Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

The Monday Book Club selection for November is the graphic novel, Ducks,: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton.  This Canadian comics artist wrote the first graphic novel to win Canada Reads.
The author portrayed a powerful message illustrating the themes of environmental destruction, loneliness and lack of mental health resources, misogyny, labor exploitation and corporate greed, and the detrimental effect on the local indigenous communities.
The group were glad to be exposed to this literary style, which is popular among the youth of today, but most prefer to read a book in text rather than through graphic images.
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Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy, by Tim Harford 

Jeanne C’s Comments: The book is a series of short essays in which the author explains how each invention came to be and how it has changed the lives of its readers. For example, we learn that passports were originally letters of permission to travel and were provided by nobility to their subordinates. In 1920, after World War II, The League of Nations formally standardized passports and contributed to making them widely required. Another topic of interest is barbed wire and how its invention in 1876 shaped the European settlement of North America and the notion of private ownership of land. Topics are diverse and times span far into the past and right up to today’s technological achievements.
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Five Wives by Joan Thomas

Leslie L spoke of three books she recently read but particularly wanted to highlight Five Wives by Joan Thomas, which won the Governor General Award a couple of years ago.

The events at the centre of this book took place in 1956 in Eastern Ecuador.  A group of evangelical American missionaries was trying to make “friendly” contact with an isolated tribe of indigenous Ecuadorians living in the Amazonian basin.
Five young men with their wives and children arrive and settle in with different personalities and backgrounds and different attitudes towards their mission.  It is a doomed attempt and the five husbands/fathers are killed.  The wives and a sister of one of the men continue the mission with predictably unsettling results.  The author has fictionalized much of the story and has added a modern twist.  An excellent and compelling read!  Joan Thomas is a Canadian author living in Winnipeg. published 2019.

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The Personal Librarian

Jeanne C’s description of The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray had us all wanting to read it!

Here’s her review:
J.P. Morgan, the famous New York City financier of the early 1900s chose Belle da Costa as his personal librarian to help him locate and acquire the masterpieces of the celebrated Pierpont Morgan Library. Throughout the book, Belle struggles to hide her origins as the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and to pass as White. The story follows her as she navigates through upper-class society and outmaneuvers her colleagues to negotiate for valuable artworks. The reader catches glimpses of well-known historical figures as they are portrayed in Belle’s own writings from the time.

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Local history treasure by Brian Dawe

Jean F’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she regaled us with anecdotes and historical tidbits from Old Oxford is Wide Awake! Pioneer Settlers & Politicians in Oxford County 1793-1853 by Brian Dawe. She got it for a steal at a used book sale but the question is, will she ever lend it out? Likely not!

Here’s her review:

THE BOOK I HAVE BEEN READING – Jean Farquharson

Old Oxford is Wide Awake: Pioneer Settlers & Politicians in Oxford County 1793-1853.  Privately published by Wm Brian Dawe. c1980. This book is an absolute treasure I found at the Symphony Book Sale.

This local historian researched deeply about the opening up of Oxford County and local struggles for power and wealth, and follows through the War of 1812 and the 1837 Rebellion. Actors in the performances were the Tories and Reformists; Loyalists and Americans; the British settlers and officers who made up the local militias; the would-be aristocrats, including the military officers who were retired on half pay and Family Compact members. Those who settled in Oxford County faced deterrences when the isolated backwoods of newly formed Upper Canada was being settled with mills and connecting roads being cut out from Indian paths and military surveys; inns, industries and businesses created; schools founded; church groups struggled with domination by UC’s official Anglican church favoured with land grants by those in power.

The growth of settlements depended on the policies of Lieutenant-Gov. John Graves Simcoe who believed in loyally following the British aristocratic system.  He created boundaries and assigned townships in Oxford, Middlesex and Norfolk Counties to favoured developers requiring them to survey lots and develop roads to bring in settlers to his newly named communities. He appointed his associates to be local magistrates, justices of the peace, roadmasters, etc.

From primary sources – letters, reports, personal papers, government documents, maps, portraits, paintings from archives and libraries, Dawes found the stories describing squabbles, threats, bribes, self-serving antics of the people vying with each other to get control and the government fumbling and uncommunicative. Does it sound familiar?

Because Brant County did not yet exist, the story includes Burford and Oakland (Burford Gore) Townships which were part of Oxford. The book filled in a lot of details for me about their history as well as Oxford, where I grew up.