The Twin in the Tavern

This was another cute children's book by Barbara Brooks Wallace. It's about an orphan. (Wallace likes to write about them.) He works for two scummy villains and finds a boy need Beetle who works for them. The two of them barely live off the scraps of the place. Taddy remembers something he heard about him having a twin. But not everything is as it seems. The ending was wrapped up nicely. I read Wallace's Cousins in the Castle, which had an ending which wrapped up nicely too. Except this time there's a nice twist about the twin part of the story I wasn't expecting. There's a lot of chemistry between the characters Beetle and Taddy.

A Woman Killed with Kindness

This was a play written in the 1600's about a man's friend who has an affair with his wife. The husband sends her away to live in isolation where she stops eating as a way to redeem herself from the sin. Guilt is the way that the wife is killed with kindness. In its own way it's a horrific death. There is a subplot of a brother selling his sister for a night to wipe away his gambling debts. Yes there were better plays written around this time but it was ok.

Cousins in the castle

This was a cute children's book that had an ending that wrapped everything up nicely. Amelia goes from being rich to roaming the streets. She becomes an orphan and she comes across a bunch of unsavory adults. The only person who seems decent is the kid Primrose. The gender roles with that character were interesting. I'm interested in reading the author's The Twin in the Tavern and am happy my library has some of her books.

The Black Death

I learned a lot from this short history book about the black death. At the time people thought it was the smell which caused it so they started a trash system. This took care of some of the smell belief anyway. This book makes clear that if anything the black death made people take care of themselves more not only the trash system but with the pasteurization of milk and other advancements. This book was pretty informative and a quick read.

Lucy Runs Away

Catherine Storr's sequel to Lucy would not be published today as it encourages kids to run away. But then this was written in the 1960s. It's innocent though. Not only does Lucy have adventures but she also saves two lives. In the original Lucy wanted to be a boy and this book addresses her as he many times which I thought was interesting. It's cute but not one of Storr's best.

Rufus

This was an ok Catherine Storr book about a boy who is able to go to another time because of a knife. His sister and him are orphans except she gets chosen to belong in a home. He stucks in a school where a bully starts making him do things against his personality like stealing. Eventually he conquers his fear of the bully and is a better person in the end. I like the representation the book had on the power bullies have over people and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Rufus.

On Tangled Paths

This book by Theodor Fontane was ok but there was something missing. It could have been something great. It's about a couple Lene and Botho. Their love is brief and can't last because of their social status since she is just a poor seamstress. Eventually Botho marries a shallow woman and realizes just how great Lene was but gives her blessing to her new husband Franke. Fontane's book Effi Briest is a more popular classic. I'm curious about it since it's had multiple movie adaptations. I'll have to read that some time.