Non-fiction Spotlight: "Only Yesterday" and "Since Yesterday"

Today I'm pleased to spotlight two books that will be of enormous help to those of you writing books in the 1920s and 1930s. Of course, if you're a fan of those decades, you will also find these books very interesting.

Only Yesterday and Since Yesterday were published by Frederick Lewis Allen in the 30s and 40s. Allen was a journalist who wrote many pieces for such publications as Atlantic Monthly and Harper's. These books are being re-released in digital format and can be found at Amazon.

Only Yesterday begins when President Woodrow Wilson declared the end of World War I in a letter to the American public, and continuing through his defeat, Prohibition, the Big Red Scare, the rise of women’s hem lines, and the stock market crash of 1929. Allen, of course, was a first witness to all these events, so this is a very interesting piece of primary history. Since Yesterday picks up where Only Yesterday left off. Published in 1940, starts in the days before the stock market crash.  From the Lindbergh kidnapping to the New Deal, from the devastating dust storms that raged through our farmlands to the rise of Benny Goodman, the public adoration of Shirley Temple, and our mass escape to the movies, this book is a hopeful and powerful reminder of why history matters.

 Both books are now available.

Review: "Inglorious Royal Marriages: A Demi-Millennium of Unholy Matrimony"

Hello folks!

I have another review for you today and it's non-fiction, if you can believe that. There is no denying that most non-fiction bores me. It's just a little too dry. I often prefer reading fiction and then going to investigate the people and events in a story for accuracy or sometimes just personal interest. One of the few non-fiction authors I enjoy is Leslie Carroll. She is a prolific fiction author as well which may be why I like her non-fiction works so well. 

This is the latest installment in her chronicles of royal relationships, both legal and not so legal. This part of the series takes a look at the marriages contracted for dynastic reasons; as a result, most were notoriously unhappy. Each section is devoted to the husband and wife involved in the marriage. Some of the royals documented are Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, Catherine of Braganza and Charles II, Anne of Austria and Louis XIII, and Marie of Romania and Ferdinand I.

The book is very readable. It doesn’t get bogged down like a lot of non-fiction and is filled with fascinating stories from the medieval period all the way through World War II. The book’s focus on some lesser-known nobles is a boon for those readers who love all the intricacies of royal life. As with her other works, Carroll sometimes goes into too much detail, particularly about the political maneuverings at the time. A little more attention to the daily lives of the subjects would have made Inglorious Royal Marriages a jewel in the crown. Nonetheless, the book is recommended for those readers who enjoy social and royal history.