Julia DrostenRecensioni

Full review can be found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/book-review-the-elephant-keepers-daughte...

Full review can be found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/book-review-the-elephant-keepers-daughte...

A story of British Colonials acting badly in what is now Sri Lanka in the early 19th century. At the beginning of the book, I thought it was a YA book due to its elementary writing coupled with fact that it was only 295 pages in length. However, that quickly changed with the onslaught of the absolute violent nature of some of the ensuing chapters. Julia Drosten is actually a husband and wife team who write under the name Julia Drosten. That may have been why some chapters seemed YA and some seemed very adult! I have previously read The Lioness of Morocco and The Girl with the Golden Scissors by the same author(s) and enjoyed them.

The story took place in primarily in Vienna and Hungary from about 1899-1918. It is the story of a foundling and her life and loves. It's 80% superb historical fiction, 10% historical romance, and 10% nonsense. 326 pages

The characters were flat and the plot not terribly well held together. Too much action happened off screen and was just described in retrospect. We hardly got to see the development of the main character Sibylla, and the second half of the book hardly concerned her. The villain of the end was almost comic and utterly predictable. The highlight of the book was the middle section where there is a fairly long set of actually described events which included real character development. When I read that, I was hopefully that the rest had only been brief because the authors were rushing us to the point where Sibylla's story really began. Sadly, I was wrong.

This was a great read about Sibylla, from a upper class English family who moves to Morocco in the mid 19th century with her husband to take over the family's shipping interests in that part of the world. While there, Sibylla is forced to recognize some hard truths about her husband and raise her children by herself. This was a family saga as well as historical fiction, and the locale was exotic. My only complaint was that the last chapter seem to be rushed and a bit disappointing. 450 pages

Thank you, Netgalley.com, for giving me a chance to read a free copy of The Girl With the Golden Scissors in exchange for a fair review.
Historical fiction is a genre I like to read during the winter months. The Girl With the Golden Scissors is the story of an illegitimate child of the Austro-Hungarian empire, became an independent woman, and an essential person in the fashion industry before and during WWI.
It is the first time that I am reading a book that the perspective is from the losing party of the war.
It has a book that has an LGBTQ+ character, and through this character, you can learn the customs of acceptance or not acceptance of them. Also, you see that those years the thought of treating beeing homo-sexual with psychoanalysis.
Fanny is a strong character; she is fierce, and during her life, has to overcome a lot of struggles. Fanny knows what her social-economic status is, but at the same time, she is a true friend and knows to hold back even if it means to live with heartbreak.
The husband and wife, writing as Julia Drosten and the translator Deborah Rachel Langton had me devouring me the book. I could feel the cold entering into my bones while reading the passage where Max, the main character, posted in the military position close to the Russian border, before his commander, the remaining soldiers' surrender.
I had a little trouble with the pacing at the beginning, but about 10% of the book, I got used to it and enjoyed it.
Yes, this book a translation, and as I am familiar with translated works, it is a good translation. What is a sure thing is I will be on the lookout for the other books that have been written by Julia Drosten.
#TheGirlwiththeGoldenScissors #NetGalley

4 "Charting Her Own Course" Stars for the story and 4.5 Stars for the narration.

The Lioness of Morocco is a book that defies convention. It reads mostly like historical fiction detailing the saga of one family over a number of decades with some mystery/suspense and romance elements thrown in. Perhaps what I enjoyed the most was the historical aspect of this novel, as there aren't too many books that give you a picture of what it was like to live in Morocco as an English woman in the nineteenth century. Additionally, the talented narration by Henrietta Meire makes this a good title to experience in audiobook format.

Before delving into the background which will necessarily need to be short so as not to spoil the story for you; and as I mostly listen to romances, I feel a note of caution is merited. I would be remiss not to mention that for the typical romance listener there will definitely be some disappointments along the way, as this is not your typical romance. However, I encourage you to listen to the very end, as rest assured there is a HEA.

Sibylla Spencer is practically an old spinster at the age of 23 as she is still a single woman at the age of 23 living in 19th century England. As the daughter of a rich merchant, however, her interest for leading her own business has been sparked, and she is less concerned with societal conventions than most women of her age and time. Instead she dreams of being able to explore her own mercantile ventures. So when an ambitious employee of her father's saves her from a near drowning, she finally capitulates to his courting overtures, and before long they are wed. However, sadly for her, her new husband Benjamin seems to be much more attracted to the wealth she brings to their marriage than her.

Then Benjamin is offered an opportunity to lead a merchant trading venture in Morocco, an opportunity that Sibylla wholeheartedly endorses. Before long, their lives have completely changed both culturally and businesswise as even Sibylla finally launches her own clandestine business venture trading with the wives and concubines of the Moroccan leaders.

But as things begin to change, Benjamin's greed and apathy towards Sibylla put into play a series of events that lead to a complete change in their lives, including the uncovering of an embezzling scheme and Sibylla's discovery of a man who shows her what it feels like to truly feel love. Just how will this story end? Will Benjamin take down Sibylla with his own greedy exploits? Will Sibylla finally get to experience what life can be like with a man who truly loves her?

The narration by Henrietta Meire is well done which was not an easy feat with this subject matter. This is a difficult audiobook to narrate because of the multitude of accents to create--from the heroine's English accent to the Moroccan accents and even a French accent--Ms. Meire's skill with switching between accents is important to lending credibility and sense of genuineness to this story. She also varies her pitch appropriately so that you can distinguish the gender between the numerous male and female characters that play a part in this story.

Ms. Meire also does a good job with timing her delivery. She is able to create a sense of suspense in the applicable passages as well as vary her speed to match the scene being enacted.

All in all, I'm glad I listened to The Lioness of Morocco. This was definitely a book that was completely different from most of my more typical listens, so it provided an opportunity for introspection and reflection. Additionally, it also made me appreciate just how far women's independence has come.

Source: Review copy provided for review purposes.

Eine junge Frau geht ihren Weg

Wien im Jahre 1889. Es ist Weihnachten und in einem Krankenhaus wird ein Kind geboren. Doch Fanny ist ein Kind, welches die Mutter nicht will. Fanny bleibt im Findelhaus zurück und die Mutter geht ihre eigenen Wege. Einzig die Oberpflegerin Josepha kümmert sich um das Mädchen. Sie erzieht sie und ersetzt ihr die Familie. Fanny wird erwachsen und hat schnell gelernt, will sie etwas aus ihrem Leben machen, muss sie es selbst in die Hand nehmen. Sie wird eine Maßschneiderin und das mit Erfolg. Aber der Weg dorthin war nicht einfach. Ihre Vergangenheit lässt sie einfach nicht los. Die Frage nach ihrer Herkunft quält sie immer wieder.

Das Autorenpaar Julia und Horst Drosten nimmt ihre Leser mit nach Wien zur Jahrhundertwende. Sie erzählen die Geschichte einer jungen Frau, die nicht so recht in das Bild der Frau dieser Zeit passen will. Fanny hat ihren eigenen Kopf und setzt diesen auch durch. Den Ärger, den sie sich mit ihrer manchmal forschen Art einhandelt, ist vorprogrammiert. Immer wieder stößt sie an ihre Grenzen oder an Grenzen, die ihr von anderen aufgelegt werden. Aber am Ende erreicht sie ihr Ziel doch. Es wird eindrucksvoll geschildert, wie Fanny sich durchsetzt und was sie für Höhen und Tiefen durchleben muss. Durch Fanny erfährt der Leser aber auch von dem Leben dieser Zeit. Davon was Frauen durften und was eben nicht. Die Kluft zwischen Arm und Reich, zwischen Dienern und Herren wird ebenfalls gut sichtbar. Aber eben auch, dass es möglich ist, von ganz unten aufzusteigen und sein Schicksal eben auch selbst in die Hand zu nehmen. Es ist eine Zeit, in dem sich gerade auch die Frauen langsam bewusst werden, dass es mehr im Leben gibt, als ihnen die Vergangenheit zeigt. Mir hat gut gefallen, wie gerade Fanny es schafft voran zu kommen.

Fanny startet ihr Arbeitsleben als Dienstmagd bei adligen Damen und muss bald erkennen, dass es ihr nicht gefällt, so behandelt zu werden, wie es eben mit Dienstpersonal üblich war. Mir hat Fanny ihre Art gut gefallen. Sie hat versucht sich durchzusetzen, und zwar mit allen Konsequenzen, die es manchmal für sie hatte. Gerade weil Fanny auch für ihre Fehler eingestanden ist, war sie mir von Anfang an sympathisch. Sie duckt sich nicht, sondern stellt sich gerade hin und zeigt wer sie ist.

Geschickt haben die beiden Autoren das politische Zeitgeschehen mit ihrer Geschichte verwoben. Auf diese Weise erzählen sie eben auch von der Kriegsangst und wie es in Wien in den Kriegsjahren zuging. Der Erzählstil ist dabei flüssig zu lesen. Der immer wieder einfließende Wiener Dialekt sorgt für einen gewissen Charme. Die Mischung hat mir gut gefallen und es hat Spaß gemacht, hier zu lesen.

„Das Mädchen mit der goldenen Schere“ ist ein weiterer historischer Roman von Julia und Horst Drosten, der mich gut unterhalten hat. Es gab einige Wendungen und Handlungen, die ich so nicht erwartet hatte oder auch noch nicht gelesen habe, die mir aber gut gefallen haben. Sie machen diese Geschichte zu etwas Besonderem. Ich habe gern von Fanny und ihrem Leben gelesen.

Very few books set in a foreign land have been able to so immerse me into a culture. Several times, I forgot I was reading a book and felt like I was looking out my window and seeing a whole New World.
Not only did the setting make me fall in love with Morocco but the characters in the conflict enveloped me in a story I didn’t want to leave. I love the main character, Sibylla, who grew emotionally during the story. But every woman in the story evolved during this epic family saga.
In addition, I have a greater understanding of how trade impacted countries from an economic standpoint as well as an environmental and social standpoint. The story itself had everything you want in a book: adventure, war, heartache, and love. While this book will appeal to many who read romance novels this goes far beyond just a romance and truly shows the historical value of one little plant, the saffron. The Lioness of Morocco is exactly what historical fiction should be.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I received a free copy but voluntarily reviewed.