Barbara Hambly: Patriot Hearts (Book Review)

[selenak]

I like Barbara Hambly's books, and trust her as an author, so when some years ago I saw one titled "Patriot Hearts" I browsed a bit despite the title, and emerged intrigued enough to want to read the entire novel. Due to circumstance, I couldn't do so until now.

Patriot Hearts deals with the Founding Mothers, so to speak: Martha Washington,

Comments

[astrogirl2]

Huh. That's not at all the sort of book I'd ordinarily look twice at. If nothing else, the title is off-putting, sounding like it ought to represent some painful combination of American jingoism and plain old schmaltz. But I do like Hambly (and, as you say, trust her to handle difficult subjects), and you've made it sound very worthwhile. I might have to stick this one on the (sadly interminable) wishlist.

[selenak]

If I hadn't known Barbara Hambly from many a book before, I wouldn't have given it another glance, either, but I'm really glad I did.

[wee_warrior]

Concerning the title: After I read your post I did some research to find out if I had read an excerpt of this book or another - turns out it was The Emancipator's Wife, about Mary Todd Lincoln - and stumbled over a small tidbit on Hambly thinking herself that she's not that good at titles. Apparently she wrote a Roman mystery which she originally wanted to call The Baby Eaters. :)

[selenak]

As someone who is bad with titles herself, I empathize.

[wee_warrior]

I found it already difficult to find adequate titles for uni papers, and those can be ungainly at least. Fiction titles are surely less forgiving...

[aadler]

If you have any actual interest in John Adams, the book of that name, by David McCullough, is probably the best single source available. I’m not a devoted historian myself, but I was fascinated from the first page. Worth a look, if you have the opportunity.

[selenak]

Thank you, I am interested, and it's on my list now.

[amenirdis]

It sounds well worth picking up -- thank you!

My favorite is Dolley, which is no surprise. We share a home town, and as a child I was absolutely in love with her clothes in the local museum. (Oh that salmon velvet Empire gown with the turban with peacock feathers!)

One of my favorite might have beens regards Dolley -- it seems that when we were getting our asses kicked by the British in the War of 1812, Dolley suggested and James agreed to offer supreme command of the American armies to our old friend Victor Moreau, then resident in New Jersey! Moreau declined on the basis that the US would never amount to much and took service with the Czar instead. Yet another example of Victor's inability to look beneath the surface of anything! But what if he'd done it?

[selenak]

His own statue would stand somewhere in Washington, one assumes. Also, the Czar, seriously?

The war of 1812 seems to be not very popular in fiction, as opposed to the original war of independence. I remember reading a review of "Master and Commander" the film which pointed out that the setting was changed so the enemy could be French because people would have been "confused" to watch a British/American showdown, with the Americans on the antagonist of film side. To which I had to raise an eyebrow and say "Oh really?" Because hundreds of films featuring German antagonists did well at the German box office (not to mention elsewhere in the world), I can tell you.

[amenirdis]

Victor could have been president. Possibly president for life if he'd played his cards right. But as is typical of Victor, better to reign in hell than serve in heaven! It seemed like a better idea to go to Russia. And of course he was killed at Leipzig, rendering ambition moot when he might have been known as the man who saved Washington!

That's definitely true about Master and Commander! If it had been the Charleston schooner it was in the book I would have been rooting for them to kick Jack Aubrey's butt. But then I kind of was anyway.... :)

[agent_bob]

If you'd like to know more about John Adams and the start of the American Revolution, I'd suggest watching the HBO miniseries "John Adams" with Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as Abigail. I've only seen a clip of it, but it was great, and I'd love to see more of it.

[selenak]

I'll try to get it on dvd for my region then!