Sketches: March 24-30, 2013

Sketches: Week 13

    3/24 - Vase

 3/25 - Bird    

     3/26 - Frog

 3/27 - Place Holder    

     3/28 - Lizard

 3/29 - Morning Star    

    3/29 - Something Quick

    3/30 - Catherine of Aragon    

Sketches: March 17-23, 2014

Sketches: Week 12

    3/17 - Mara

 3/18 - Under the Bus       

    3/19 - Mushroom

 3/20 -Anniversary   

    3/21 - Star Flower

 

3/22 - Horse    

    3/23 - Full Moon

Sketches: March 10-16, 2013

Sketches:  Week 11

   3/10 - No one in particular

3/11 - Dancer     

   3/12 - Bird

3/13 - Heron    

   3/14 - Comet

3/15 - Luck Stone    

   3/16 - Center Piece

Sketches: March 3-9, 2013

Sketches: Week 10

3/3 - I Got a Cold

3/4 - Nyala

3/5 - Comentary

3/6 - Black and White

3/7 - Reading in Bed

3/8 - Bird Bath

3/9 - What Time is it, away?

3/9 - Abstract   

Sketches: February 24 - March 2, 2013

Sketches: Week 9

2/24 - Penny

2/25 - Thomas

2/26 - Tree

2/27 - Moon Shadow

2/28 - Sunset

3/1 - Off the Cliff

3/2 - My Hands

The Wolves of Andover

The Wolves of Andover, Kathleen Kent


I do enjoy a good historical fiction novel. This book was a gift, one I might not have picked up for myself but one I am very glad I received.

1673 Massachusetts is reminiscent of the New England I remember. For a historical backdrop, think of a cross between The Cousins' War (Kevin Phillips) and In the Devil's Snare (Mary Beth Norton). Though neither of those is quite right as the novel postdates the English Civil War by 30 years and precedes the trials in Salem by 20 . But she does a masterful job of bridging those two major events. If you've read either, you will appreciate how she anchors the novel between both of those historical contexts.

She uses a rich, varied language that blends beautifully with the sometimes harsh New England Puritan landscape and an equally, though disparately, harsh London during the English Restoration. I only wish she had had a little more time to explore the Abenaki culture. Even there, she portrays them as the colonists and characters would have seen them rather than as they would have seen themselves. For full disclosure, I have Abenaki ancestry so they hold a special place in my heart. It's quite rare I get to read about them. As an added perk, she throws in a little Welsh. How could I resist that?

Of course, the story is all the more interesting as it is based on the lives of her family ancestors. Which becomes even more intriguing when you learn the eventual fate of one of the characters in the Author's Notes. Though she prepares you for it throughout.

An easy, engaging read whose dark, rich vistas will linger in your mind. I burned through it in a week. Well worth picking up.