January's Bookstack -- and a Happy Ending

I haven't exactly been turning the page this past month! But I have enjoyed several offerings, two mysteries and an autobiography of sorts (diaries, actually).

 

"The Hollywood Spy" by Susan Elia Macneal

This is the current entry in Macneal's "Maggie Hope" series, set during World War II. This time Maggie is in Hollywood in 1942, ostensibly to help her former beau, John, now working for Walt Disney, discover if his fiancee was murdered or a suicide/accident, as the police say. As she and her ballet-dancer friend, Sarah, discover the joys of Hollywood, they also discover a gritty side -- one of racism, the KKK, and a white supremacist undercurrent reaching into some of the highest levels of not only society but some of its most trusted institutions.

As fans of the series know, Macneal weaves a good story and one that readers may find very uncomfortable, with more than a few parallels to some recent events in today's world. She does her research well (and includes a lengthy bibliography at the back of the book for those wishing to delve deeper into the topic). It is an unsettling book and it should be.

(For those unfamiliar with the "Maggie Hope" series, the central character is an American who lives in London and in previous books worked for Winston Churchill and served in the OSS.The books follow the chronology of the war and Maggie has had plot lines in several countries related to Wold War II. Each book is self-contained but reading in order is recommended.)

"Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman" by Alan Rickman 

For one generation, the late Alan Rickman may be remembered as Emma Thompson's husband in "Love, Actually," who is smitten with his young secretary. To a younger generation he will forever be Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series. What many might not know was that he was an accomplished artist as well as a highly regarded stage actor, classically trained.

"Madly, Deeply" is a collection of about fifteen years of his diary entries from, ending several months before his untimely death in January 2016. They offer readers a glimpse into the personal and professional life of a working actor. Chances are he did not write these to be published "as is" or in some ways he may have been more specific, but as more of a reference to which he later referred.

The entries are quite short, some simply indicating a flight or a notation of it being a good or bad day where he dined or his companions at the table. Others are longer, more thoughtful entries, providing insight into Rickman, his films and his activities. Some are deeply thoughtful, some a bit snarky or exasperated, others full of praise for fellow actors or performer.

Rickman was writing for himself and sometimes that can leave a reader a bit at sea -- who is NG? or Mike M. (especially if there has been more than one character with similar initials.) Often the editor will footnote a name (or add a last name in parentheses) but not often enough. (Possibly because he has no idea who they are!) It's frustrating -- and you learn to let it go. Because apart from a bit of starstruck namedropping (when he attends an awards event or a party) most of the names are people he knows and works with, his friends. Some of those names will be familiar to you as well and that makes it rather fun.

Another small quibble is purely personal! Rickman was a wonderful artist and the photos in the book show several of his journal pages with elaborate paintings on them (along with production photos). I would have loved to have seen more of those. That said, his editor had his work cut out for him -- his handwriting was terrible!

Through his entries we learn about the actor's commitments to certain charitable organizations, his political commitments, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) where he studied and later served on the board, the frustrations of rehabbing a home from miles away, the stresses of constant travel while shooting -- and then sitting on set all day, waiting for your shot. We step into his life as his mother fades and dies and learn a bit about his family.

And, in the end, we find that he is (as probably most all famous people are) a very "real" person who irons his own shirts, drinks a bit too much wine at times, struggles to lose weight now and then, cleans the lime off the shower and has strong political beliefs, marching in more than one protest. It becomes clear that he is a steadfast friend. He strikes me as an ordinary guy in an extraordinary career, with all the ups and downs that go with it.

This isn't everyone's book. But it certainly was mine. It has led me to searches for movies of his I haven't seen and I'll appreciate them all the more. (But I wish the editor had included a glossary of names and a timeline of films/theatre projects would be nice, too -- since he often refers to them in his own shorthand (GQ is "Galaxy Quest"!)

"Murder at Monk's Barn" by Cecil Waye

If you haven't heard of Cecil Waye, well, neither had I. That's pretty amazing since he wrote more than 150 books (under many names), most of them in the 1920s to the 1960s. He was a founding member of the famed Detection Club which included writers like Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie in their roster. The list of books and articles on his Wikipedia page is enormous. 

"Murder at Monk's Barn" (1930) is the first in a series of four books featuring the brother and sister investigators Vivienne and Christopher Perrin. When they are a approached by a client to learn who murdered his brother, they take on the case, visiting the small village of Fordington, site of the manor house, Monk's Barn, on a quest for information. Along the way they work with Detective Swayne, who believes they may be able to learn more intimate details about the characters involved than he can.

The murder itself is rather ingenious and the method of discovery, particularly through Vivienne's efforts, is clever indeed. There is little more I can say without scooping the plot, but this is a delightful and intriguing romp and well worth the time spent reading along.

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Photo: Jason Babcock

 And finally, for those still interested, here's a three-minute video on the rescue of Pumpkin the Deer. It's fascinating. And here is a photo of Pumpkin, post rescue, as photographed by Jason Babcock, who said (when asked on FB, "how can you tell?" -- "He reunited with his herd and has been seen out and about in the woods, enjoying the bountiful of snacks." He indicated they could tell it was Pumpkin by the button antlers, that he was smallest of the three he hung out with and -- he ate a lot!

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