Monday Musings and I Love My Pantry

The Long and the Short Reviews Site reviews a lot of romance stories. One of our keys is that there has to be a "Happily Ever After." But, occasionally we will receive books from publishers which are really good books, but do not fit into the "HEA" ending. When that happens, I will be bringing you reviews here... books which I enjoyed, but books I can't review for the site.

Here is one such work and I should have known it wouldn't fit in when we got it (let's blame the blonde roots).

Review of Brief Gaudy Hour: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Margaret Campbell Barnes

The enigmatic Anne Boleyn comes to life in this charming, brilliant portrayal by acclaimed British novelist Margaret Campbell Barnes. &
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The infamous love of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn undertook a rocky journey from innocent courtier to powerful Queen of England. A meticulous researcher, Margaret Campbell Barnes immerses readers in this intrigue and in the lush, glittery world of the Tudor Court. The beauty and charms of Anne Boleyn bewitched the most powerful man in the world, King Henry VIII, but her resourcefulness and cleverness were not enough to stop the malice of her enemies. Her swift rise to power quickly became her own undoing.

If you are interested at all in British history, the Reformation in England, or a good historical fiction, you could do worse than pick up Barnes' latest work. The author blends facts garnered from research along with an eye to what forces worked on Anne Boleyn to make her a woman who would change history.

The reader first gets to know Anne in the context of her family and friends. We learn of her first love affair and the enmity that arises between her and Cardinal Wolsey. This hatred would last throughout his life and reveals somewhat her reasons for doing some of the things she later did.

I really liked the character of Anne in the beginning of the book and Brief Gaudy Hour makes me want to know even more about her. In this book, you can garner a better idea of what life was like than you can from history tomes.

Ms. Barnes, in this newly released edtion of her work, stands the proof of time. Even though it was first released in 1942, it reads as fresh as anything released today. If you have any intereste at all in this time period, I highly recommend this book.

EDITED TO ADD: If you are interested in winning an ARC of this book, just leave a comment. I'll have the drawing on Friday.

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I promised last week information about the writing conference, and Allie reminded me I have not done so yet. Tomorrow, I will tell you some of the highlights. I would post pictures, but they didn't turn out well. OH... and next conference I will remember to get pictures OF ME with EVERYONE I meet. And, take address labels. Trust me, if you are going to a conference and they are going to be giving away door prizes or they are going to have a raffle... you want the address labels. Otherwise you will spend a long time putting your name on way too many raffle tickets (but I did win some books!!) chanel handbags

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I spent this past weekend redoing my pantry. It's not quite finished (I need to get a couple more baskets) but I wanted to share with you the new and improved pantry. It was just going to be a simple re-organization project, but it turned into so much more. My wonderful husband deepened the shelves for me (from 11" to 15" deep)and we repainted everything. Then I got baskets and organized according to "themes" (for lack of a better word): rice and beans/ pasta/ baking/ breakfast/ crackers and cookies/ and "Ashley's Stuff" (she's always ordering snack items from Oriental sites). When I get back, I'll finish the baking zone and will have a basket for snacks (popcorn, nuts, chips, etc.) I keep opening the doors just to look at it!



Have a great day!