classic Archives

Framley Parsonage

Righteous Ruin Author: Anthony Trollope Have you ever had the desire to know great people? To rise above your place in life? To be with the “in” crowd and reap all the benefits that come along with popularity and status? If so, then Framley Parsonage is the Victorian-era tale of caution for you. Mark Robarts is a lucky young cleric. He was installed as a young man by Lady Lufton, and he and his wife are already living well at the parsonage, with a yearly stipend beyond what a man of his age and experience could usually hope to expect. But [...]

Frances Carden2024-07-06T11:36:34-07:00July 6th, 2024|Tags: Anthony Trollope, Barsetshire, book review, Chronicles of Barsetshire, classic, read, reading|

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

A Moving Memoir Author: Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a powerful memoir about survival, about finding beauty and a voice even in the most desperate circumstances. It’s a story about self-definition, one that starts with five-year-old Maya watching her grandmother, a respected, educated Black woman who owned a shop, being mistreated by jealous white people. From the opening lines, then, we see that Maya’s growing up will be interspersed by moments of connection and cataclysmic disruption, unfairness both inside and outside of the family. Maya doesn’t belong anywhere: not with the white community and not with [...]

Frances Carden2024-06-29T20:24:49-07:00June 29th, 2024|Tags: book review, classic, memoir, read, reading|

Oresteia

A Family Affair Author: Aeschylus In Aeschylus’ famous triad, The Oresteia, the author explores themes of violence and honor killings, leading readers from primeval bloodlust into law and order and the establishment of civilization. It starts, as many know, with the House of Atreus and its escalating curse. Agamemnon triggers the curse again when he sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia, for political gain and a successful war against Troy. Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, begins an assassination plan that ends when Agamemnon comes home, triumphant, and oblivious, new mistress in tow. The chain reaction is set, and Orestes determines to murder his mother [...]

Frances Carden2024-06-14T17:15:53-07:00June 14th, 2024|Tags: Aeschylus, book, book review, classic, play, read, reading|