THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion

Do you have favorite books you'd recommend? Tell us about them.

The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch.
The Magus - John Fowles.
Cider House Rules - John Irving
Atonement - Ian McEwan
... to name a few.

If you are at all intrerested in war films, one of my favorites is 'Das Boot' which is about a U-Boat on a mission to the Mediterranean. Both the book and the movie are sensational. Be sure to see it with subtitles not dubbed. Love it.

Pat Rogers, if he was not one of the great historians of our age, would rival Dashiell Hammett as a truly magnificent detective novelist. In his latest non-fiction gem, The Poet and the Publisher: The Case of Alexander Pope, Esq., of Twickenham versus Edmund Curll, Bookseller in Grub Street, Dr. Rogers, professor emeritus in the liberal arts at the University of South Florida, transports the reader back to one of the most legendary literary feuds that occurred centuries ago though made alive and vivid in this remarkable volume.

Alexander Pope was the “poète du moment” of his time. He was also one of the most controversial and berated of public figures, often due to his own antics. Pope fell out of favor with most so called intelligentsia for many decades in favor of the romantics and was, if not largely forgotten… dismissed yet Dr. Rogers, one of the foremost experts on Pope has, by shear tenacity, conjured up a renaissance for this misbegotten rogue..or was he?

When one writes about history it can often be dry and dull, a retelling of simple facts and dates. Thankfully, Dr. Rogers documentation of the feud between Alexander Pope and Edmund Curll is anything but academic. Blessed with two combatants with incredible wit and infinite hostility against each other, Dr. Rogers allows the events and the personalities to speak for themselves. The fact that the author is an expert on this era is an immeasurable balm in the descriptive writing that enables the reader to become engulfed in the events of this period.

While Alexander Pope is certainly far more well known, Edmund Curll is much deserving of note. We all owe Dr. Rogers a great debt of gratitude for bringing his name to much greater light. Curll was a product of Grub Street. First let us examine Grub Street… The very definition of Onomatopoeia. The very name brings to mind the unsavory and the distasteful. Curll was one of the most successful of publishers at this storied location and one of the most keen practitioners of the art of deceit and skulduggery. He was also incredibly intelligent and blessed with a superb sense of business savvy.

His opponent Alexander Pope was no less skilled in the art of deception and most importantly, an unwavering obsession for revenge. This was no David and Goliath story rather it was Goliath versus Goliath. Each competitor had many weapons at their disposal. Their hatred toward each other as perfectly depicted by Dr. Rogers was a “Combattez jusqu'à la mort”.

The genius of Dr. Rogers’ retelling of the events in this epic feud is his ability to allow the participants to speak for themselves. With a generous allowance of original documentation, letters, court documents, illustrations, and other pertinent first-hand descriptions, the reader is afforded a front row seat at the proverbial fight of the century.

This is no mundane history, with the assured writing of an expert historian and the main protagonists being both outrageous and outstandingly witty, this is a joy to read. The words and personalities of both Alexander Pope and Edmund Curll come to life in this volume. Dr. Rogers further enhances his history by populating the book with multiple personalities of the period.

The key difference that distinguishes this history from others is Dr. Roger’s decision to present his distillation as a Personnalités de Trilo… A distinct battle of opposites. Personalities that are different yet in many ways the same. Both protagonists are stubborn, arrogant, self righteous, and certain they are in the right. From the battle over lack of copyright laws to pilfering of letters, there seems to be no limit to the lengths at which each will go to destroying the other. Detailng and publishing one’s personal property is even.. Pas hors limites.

We now return to Dashiell Hammett, Dr. Rogers includes a most astute biographical segment on each protagonist as well as fascinating and incisive segments on the era and personalities in which both inhabited. It is to be remembered that the author is one of the foremost experts on this literary era. It is to his credit that he is able to bring it to such vibrant life. Once the reader is informed about the combatants, Dr. Rogers presents the various facts of each of their “cases”. Legal documents and other specific and original articles are included. The reader is then able to delve into the various articles of evidence and come to their own conclusions. It is the very best in cross exhibit and allowance for individual verdict that even the most astute lover of whodunits cannot equal.

We live in a time of instant gratification. A time when if one desires an answer, one can simply Google it and it is presented within seconds. This was not always the case. There was a time when one had to read the newspapers and follow the local gossip in order to at least find a hint of the truth. In The Poet and the Publisher: The Case of Alexander Pope, Esq., of Twickenham versus Edmund Curll, Bookseller in Grub Street, Dr. Pat Rogers has managed to awaken a period in history that has long been, if not forgotten, then dismissed.
Dr. Rogers has take two protagonists, both incredibly full of wit and vigor and managed to bring them both back to life centuries after their passing. Additionally, the author has miraculously brought back 18th century Grub Street to life with all its grime, exuberance, mischievousness, innovation and uniqueness.

To those who might find this volume incredibly witty for a “Histoire sérieuse”.. I refer you to the following:
To paraphrase the late actor Billy Gilbert, he was once asked by a rather snobbish fellow about Laurel and Hardy (with whom he appeared in many films)… “Weren’t they lowbrow funnymen?” …To which he replied “They made people laugh..what’s wrong with that”……Indeed I say…Pope and Curll had wit which is universal…blind to all so-called human made castes…and kudos to Dr. Rogers for once again allowing us to luxuriant in Pope’s and Curll’s laughter.

Richard Friedman
Founder
The James Mason Community Book Club
7,000+ Members

Among my favorite novels I wish to mention are the following:

1. The Poldark Series of historical novels by Winston Graham, with a special emphasis on
a) Ross Poldark


b) The Black Moon


The time is February 1794. In the opening pages, the author evokes an image of a sleepy Cornwall in the depths of a harsh and frigid winter. George Warleggan continues to expand his power and influence over the community. His wife Elizabeth (once Ross Poldark's great love) has given birth to a son, Valentine. Her son from her previous marriage to Ross' cousin Francis, Geoffrey Charles, has been given a governess, Morwenna Chynoweth (a cousin of Elizabeth's) to tutor him.

Two of Demelza's brothers, Sam and Drake Carne, both ardent Methodists, come to Ross and Demelza, seeking a new life for themselves in the community. Ross is not exactly thrilled to have them there. But he gives Sam a job working in one of his mines and Drake assumes a trademan's life. With the coming of the Carnes, Methodism in the community is given a considerable boost, which doesn't sit well with a number of the local notables.

The novel goes on to describe the ongoing relationship between Caroline and Dr. Dwight Enys, who had gone into the Navy when it seemed impossible that he and Caroline could marry over the objections of Caroline's uncle and guardian, who had deemed Dr. Enys as socially unsuitable for his niece, who soon stood to acquire an inheritance. The ship on which Dwight is serving as a surgeon is involved in a naval battle near the French coast, and most of the ship's survivors, including Dwight, are taken prisoner. When Caroline gets wind of this, she begins, with Ross, a campaign for Dwight's freedom.

There is also a developing relationship between Morwenna and Drake, which creates further conflict between the Poldarks and the Warleggans.

Again, as in the other novels of the Poldark Series, this is a novel that never falters. Besides the principal characters, there are also a number of minor characters who further enliven and enrich the drama. This is some of the best historical fiction you'll ever find.

c) The Miller's Dance



The story begins along a Cornish beach in February 1812. Ross Poldark and his family, along with some close friends and several members of his mining company (all hard-working men) await the arrival by sea of a steam engine to be used in mining operations. Britain is in a somewhat precarious state, what with social unrest in the north caused by the displacement of workers by the growth of industry and the uncertainty of the long, protracted war with Napoleon who bestrides Europe like a Colossus. Only in the Iberian Peninsula, where British forces under Arthur Wellesley, assisted by an assortment of Spanish and Portuguese units, are contesting French control is there a sliver of hope of frustrating and driving Napoleon back into France.

Here the Poldark children --- namely Jeremy and Clowance --- take center stage in this novel. Jeremy, who has become highly knowledgeable about the design, manufacture, and use of steam engines, has lost his heart to Cuby Trevanion, who hails from an old, distinguished family in Cornwall that has fallen on hard times. Cuby's guardian, her older brother Major Trevanion, whose penchant for drink and gambling has heavily indebted the family, took an instant dislike to Jeremy. (Besides, the Poldarks, though from a longstanding name and highly esteemed in the community --- and Ross, also a Member of Parliament ---- for the Major could not offer enough money to bring the Trevanions safely out of debt.) Nevertheless, Jeremy tries, when occasion allows in the shape of an opera or social outing where he knew Cuby would be present, to find whatever time he could for a tete-a-tete with her. Cuby rebuffs his subtle advances, though the reader is given reason to suspect that she may have feelings for Jeremy. But, appreciating her family's indebtedness and having a deep, filial loyalty and love for her oldest brother the Major, she made clear to Jeremy that she would be willing to accede to any future plans the Major may have for marrying her to a comfortably wealthy man, whose fortune would ensure lasting financial security for the Trevanion family.

So long as it was unclear whom would be Cuby's prospective husband, Jeremy maintained a thin thread of optimism that perhaps, with some time, patience, and an improvement in his own fortunes through work at the mine and the fruition of his plans for developing steel engines for use in overland transport --- he would sway Cuby to his side. But towards the end of the year, Jeremy is in for a rude awakening.


Clowance is dating Stephen Carrington, a devil-may-care, fun-loving, hard working sort of man. (Stephen's natural element is the sea, where he served on a privateer. But finding himself in somewhat straitened circumstances upon arriving in Cornwall, he, with Ross's help, gets a job working on the land, as well as for the Poldark mining company. All the while, Stephen is biding his time til he can get back to sea, this time with his own ship.) He exudes an animal magnetism that she finds hard to resist, for Stephen is quite unlike any other man she has met. Both become set on marriage. But theirs is not an easy relationship for a host of reasons. Both Clowance and Steven would face a number of challenges that will leave their relationship considerably strained by the New Year.

In the meantime, the Poldarks weather some changes of their own, Ross ponders whether or not to remain in Parliament, and Napoleon's status as the Colossus of Europe is seriously challenged both in the Iberian Peninsula and Eastern Europe. So the novel ends on a somewhat hopeful note in January 1813 with the Poldarks enjoying a break in the wintry weather with a stroll on the beach, savoring the balmy breezes and lightly clouded sky above the sea.

2. The Dancing Years - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles



This novel has all the grand sweep and drama that makes the Morland Family Saga rewarding reading. It starts off in May 1919 as Britain is coming off its prolonged euphoria from having triumphed over Germany the previous November. Jessie is at Morland Place with her young son, eagerly awaiting the return of her beloved husband "Bertie" from occupation duty in Germany, where he holds a command. The Morland Family, like many other families in Britain, is beginning to come fully to terms with the impact the war has had on them and the country at large. Times are tough. The promises the government made to returning veterans to provide them with a good home and steady employment largely ring hollow. Strikes and shortages become the norm.

For anyone who has read the preceding novels in the Morland Family Saga, several of the main characters from them return to center stage. Teddy Morland, the head of Morland Place who has always put a high premium on the importance of family, tries to resume at first a prewar way of life. But he comes to realize that he must adjust to the times. His daughter Polly, still grieving over a German POW with whom she had unexpectedly fallen in love while he was on temporary work detail on a farm near Morland Place, tries to get on with her life. (The POW was later repatriated to Germany, where, Polly learned, he had died under somewhat mysterious circumstances.) She is restless, energetic as ever, impatient as she approaches 21 to live life to the full. This is characteristic of many of the well-to-do of British society who had been scarred by the war. Many of them indulged in endless rounds of parties, drinking, carousing, and dancing. Anything to forget the horrors of the trenches.

Emma Weston, a distant relation of the Morlands, who had served in France near the Front with the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), returns home feeling adrift and unsure how to fit in among people who were not traumatized by the war as she was. So, she loses herself in parties and dancing and proves especially adept at the fox-trot and tango. Emma becomes a part of that generation in the 1920s who deliberately distanced themselves from prewar certitudes through having a good time amid the rhythms of jazz and ragtime.

Eventually, after extended service in Germany, Bertie returns home, where he and Jessie are at last free to assume a new life together as man and wife.


There is so much to "THE DANCING YEARS" that will delight and enchant any longtime fan of the Morlands. And for the new reader in search of a novel that will transport him/her into a world slowly inching forward from 1919 to 1925, he/she will be brought into close contact with the lives of a variety of fascinating people, rich and poor alike.

3.) All Change - Elizabeth Jane Howard



The novel begins with the death, in the late spring of 1956, of 'the Duchy', who, at 89, was the matriarch of the Cazalets. Her daughter, Rachel, was at her side, as ever faithful, steadfast, loving, supportive, and wholly unselfish. Her brothers --- Hugh, Edward, and Rupert (varying in age from mid to late 50s) --- along with their families (many of whom will be familiar to readers of the previous 4 novels in the series) are caught up in a series of challenges and jarring changes in their lives in a world in which they feel woefully ill-equipped to live and thrive. Rachel, too, is faced with difficulties in her relationship with the love of her life, and with the possible loss of all that she has held dear. Elizabeth Jane Howard is a fantastic writer who knows how to make a word, a phrase, or a paragraph resonate with the reader in each chapter (which is named for a specific character or characters and serves to shed a special focus on the person or persons it highlights).

Moral Code by Lois and Ross Melbourne
This is one of those rare books that is an entertaining read and thought-provoking simultaneously. My own novels are set in the far future and AIs are ubiquitous in that context. In this book, AIs are utilized but not self-aware. The authors postulate an operating system that has an intrinsic moral imperative. Their characters define morality in the context of worldwide societal samplings. Combining the impact of artificial intelligence with self-replicating nanotechnology provides a plot framework that resonates with modern research.
The impact of corporate raiding and overwhelming greed provides the requisite villains to the story. Roy is an Elon Musk type innovator without real-life flaws.

Keira demonstrates how good intentions can lead to skirting legal restraints and personal morality.

This review is somewhat circumspect as I wish to avoid spoilers.

I really enjoyed this book and it provided a wealth of introspection.

An all time favorite, Glory Road by Robert Heinlein is one of the few books I've ever read multiple times. It is one of the most entertaining fantasies I've ever read.

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird

The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell

Between Two Trailers by J. Dana Trent

The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters by Susan Page

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos by Judy Batalion