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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated The Queen and I in Books
Oct 6, 2020
In this unfortunately dated book, writer Sue Townsend investigates how the royal family might have coped if Parliament had decided that to dethrone them. You can read my full review here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2014/08/06/a-fictional-dismantling-of-the-british-royal-family/
Dean (6921 KP) rated Sherlock Holmes (2009) in Movies
Feb 20, 2018
Much better than I had expected. A big budget, action packed, fun new vision of Sherlock Holmes. A good well picked cast, great visuals, quite a lot of cgi and plenty of humour. Nice to see Guy Ritchie do more than just East London Gangster films! Also features the quickest journey from the Houses of Parliament to Tower Bridge ever, artistic licence for you!! Sequel out next year!
ClareR (5571 KP) rated Blood on the Stone in Books
Apr 26, 2019 (Updated Apr 26, 2019)
A well-researched, exciting historical murder-mystery.
This is a very enjoyable murder mystery, set in 17th century Oxford. The English Parliament is being hosted by Oxford, with King Charles II, his wife and mistresses also present (although we don’t really see them)
Luke Sandys, Chief Officer of the Bailiffs, is called on to solve the murder of an MP (Member of Parliament), and also to stop a treasonous plot against the King.
The Bailiffs were an early precursor of the modern police force from what I could make out. There’s some great historical detail about them, about everyday lives at this time, and about religious and political tensions between Protestants and catholics. It’s just a really good story overall!
There is a historical note at the end of the story that was very interesting, and I really appreciated the extra information.
In all, a well researched and exciting story!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and the author, Jake Lynch, for reading along!
Luke Sandys, Chief Officer of the Bailiffs, is called on to solve the murder of an MP (Member of Parliament), and also to stop a treasonous plot against the King.
The Bailiffs were an early precursor of the modern police force from what I could make out. There’s some great historical detail about them, about everyday lives at this time, and about religious and political tensions between Protestants and catholics. It’s just a really good story overall!
There is a historical note at the end of the story that was very interesting, and I really appreciated the extra information.
In all, a well researched and exciting story!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and the author, Jake Lynch, for reading along!
Deborah (162 KP) rated The Beau Monde: Fashionable Society in Georgian London in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Greig's book takes a look at the Beau Monde - the fashionable elite - ranging from the 'Glorious Revolution' up to the early part of the 19th century. The Beau Monde and The Season were instigated by the more important role of parliament following the deposition of James II by his daughter and her husband - William III & Mary II. The peerage would spend a good deal of their time in London attending parliament, and so so social 'Season' was born. It was interesting to see the extent to which politics permeated the fashionable society and the importance of 'gossip' and 'chit chat' which letters from wives to husbands can be full of. The book covers jewellery and dress, exile from the Beau Monde and fraudulent claims to membership, court attendance and much more. Particularly with the clothing and jewellery, I think this would really have been enhanced with coloured plates, but sadly all the illustrations are black and white.
In her introduction, Greig states that this book has grown out of her doctoral thesis on the subject. It is a quite a scholarly read, but not completely inaccessible to the general reader.
In her introduction, Greig states that this book has grown out of her doctoral thesis on the subject. It is a quite a scholarly read, but not completely inaccessible to the general reader.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It in Books
Jul 27, 2017
Good introduction to the power of institutions
Owen Jones' essay is essentially an introduction to a vast subject that can actually be broken down in to separate books in itself. It is a hugely fascinating, disturbing and grotesque look into how power is welded by the few.
However I feel that he spread himself a little too thin, as Martin Williams wrote a similar novel in Parliament Ltd focusing on parliamentary expenses that was far more detailed and less narrative. This would have been five stars if it had been separated.
However I feel that he spread himself a little too thin, as Martin Williams wrote a similar novel in Parliament Ltd focusing on parliamentary expenses that was far more detailed and less narrative. This would have been five stars if it had been separated.
Deborah (162 KP) rated The Day Parliament Burned Down in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Now somewhere in the back of my mind I did know that the current Houses of Parliament weren't quite the same thing as the ancient Palace of Westminster, I just really didn't know what happened and when. Caroline Shenton's first book gives us a blow by blow account of that October day in 1834 when fire managed to take hold of the building and reduce much of it to ashes.
I admit that I actually found it more interesting than I had expected. It's quite unusual have have a whole book on a single, short event (the sinking of the Titanic would be one example I have seen) where events are laid out hour by hour. The quote on the cover from Mary Beard says that it is "Micro-history at its absolute best" and I have to agree. I'm only surprised that such a major event - the burning of both houses of Parliament and the destruction of many public records - isn't more well known!
Shenton has obviously done her homework and uncovered a wealth of detail about the events and the people involved. It's a story of what happened to a majorly important building, but it's also the story of the people involved, some of them very ordinary - right down to Chance, the mascot dog of the London firemen!
I admit that I actually found it more interesting than I had expected. It's quite unusual have have a whole book on a single, short event (the sinking of the Titanic would be one example I have seen) where events are laid out hour by hour. The quote on the cover from Mary Beard says that it is "Micro-history at its absolute best" and I have to agree. I'm only surprised that such a major event - the burning of both houses of Parliament and the destruction of many public records - isn't more well known!
Shenton has obviously done her homework and uncovered a wealth of detail about the events and the people involved. It's a story of what happened to a majorly important building, but it's also the story of the people involved, some of them very ordinary - right down to Chance, the mascot dog of the London firemen!
David McK (3188 KP) rated Me Too (The Bandy Papers, #5) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Fifth entry in [a:Donald Jack|442728|Donald Jack|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s 'Bandy Papers', this is set back in Bandy's home country of Canada, prohibition era (so between World War 1 and World War 2), and sees the titular hero(?) getting involved in rum-running to the States before running for (and winning a seat in) parliament.
While perhaps not as consistently funny as the earlier entries in the series (maybe because of the subject matter of Candian politics? Maybe because that's foreign (forgive the pun) to us Europeans?), this still has its moments where it near made me laugh out loud - as such, this perhaps not the best choice to read when you're on a bus packed full of people!
While perhaps not as consistently funny as the earlier entries in the series (maybe because of the subject matter of Candian politics? Maybe because that's foreign (forgive the pun) to us Europeans?), this still has its moments where it near made me laugh out loud - as such, this perhaps not the best choice to read when you're on a bus packed full of people!
David McK (3188 KP) rated Warlord's Gold (Civil War Chronicles, #5) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Book #5 in Michael Arnold's 'Civil War Chronicles', this picks up not long after then end of the previous ([b:Assassin's Reign|16281347|Assassin's Reign (Civil War Chronicles #4)|Michael Arnold|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373968716s/16281347.jpg|22383365]), with Stryker and his men off to retrieve a treasure from the Scilly Islands for the cause of King and Country.
Of course, agents of Parliament are also after the same treasure.
Meanwhile, Stryker's friend Capt Lancelot Forester is also sent deep into Parliamenterian held country in order to shore up the will of an outpost that is still holding out for the king ...
Surviving shipwreck, imprisonment and torture, the two distinct plot strands (Stryker and the treasure/Forester' mission) eventually mesh at the defense of Basing House, in another enjoyable entry in the series.
Of course, agents of Parliament are also after the same treasure.
Meanwhile, Stryker's friend Capt Lancelot Forester is also sent deep into Parliamenterian held country in order to shore up the will of an outpost that is still holding out for the king ...
Surviving shipwreck, imprisonment and torture, the two distinct plot strands (Stryker and the treasure/Forester' mission) eventually mesh at the defense of Basing House, in another enjoyable entry in the series.
The House is a taut political thriller, packed full of intrigue, secrets, corruption and betrayal. The setting is Westminster - somewhere that Tom Watson has an intimate knowledge of. And you can tell. There are nooks, crannies and offices described in here that I’ve never even heard of - and sneaky back doors too!
The story itself seemed multi-layered and quite complex to begin with, and I have to admit to struggling with the amount of names I needed to remember (this is typical of me though, to be honest!), but once I had them all straight in my head after a couple of staves, I was able to enjoy it much more.
The story tied together really nicely towards the end - the seemingly different stories coming together and resolving - but it was left on a bit of a cliffhanger. And do you know? I think I would probably read another book set in this world of the UK Parliament. I liked the characters, and particularly the unlikeable characters intrigued me (I’m nothing if not predictable!). It’ll be interesting to see where another book takes us!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, I really enjoyed it.
The story itself seemed multi-layered and quite complex to begin with, and I have to admit to struggling with the amount of names I needed to remember (this is typical of me though, to be honest!), but once I had them all straight in my head after a couple of staves, I was able to enjoy it much more.
The story tied together really nicely towards the end - the seemingly different stories coming together and resolving - but it was left on a bit of a cliffhanger. And do you know? I think I would probably read another book set in this world of the UK Parliament. I liked the characters, and particularly the unlikeable characters intrigued me (I’m nothing if not predictable!). It’ll be interesting to see where another book takes us!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, I really enjoyed it.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Shivers (1975) in Movies
Sep 3, 2020
They Came From Within
Shivers- is a distubing, terrorfying, horrorfying, sci-fi film directed by David Cronenberg and it was Cronenberg's first featured film and what a way to start.
The plot: After a scientist living in a posh apartment complex slaughters a teen girl and kills himself, investigators discover that the murderer had been carrying on experiments involving deadly parasites. Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton), a doctor living in the building, and his aide, Nurse Forsythe (Lynn Lowry), then realize that the parasites are on the loose, attacking fellow tenants. And those who become hosts turn into erotically obsessed maniacs who pass the bugs on through violent sex.
It was also known as The Parasite Murders and They Came from Within, and, for the French-Canadian distribution, Frissons). The original shooting title was Orgy of the Blood Parasites.
Shivers was Cronenberg's first feature film, and was the most profitable Canadian film made to date in 1975, but was so controversial that the Parliament of Canada debated its social and artistic value and effect upon society, because of objections to its sexual and violent content.
Its disturbing but a excellent film.
The plot: After a scientist living in a posh apartment complex slaughters a teen girl and kills himself, investigators discover that the murderer had been carrying on experiments involving deadly parasites. Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton), a doctor living in the building, and his aide, Nurse Forsythe (Lynn Lowry), then realize that the parasites are on the loose, attacking fellow tenants. And those who become hosts turn into erotically obsessed maniacs who pass the bugs on through violent sex.
It was also known as The Parasite Murders and They Came from Within, and, for the French-Canadian distribution, Frissons). The original shooting title was Orgy of the Blood Parasites.
Shivers was Cronenberg's first feature film, and was the most profitable Canadian film made to date in 1975, but was so controversial that the Parliament of Canada debated its social and artistic value and effect upon society, because of objections to its sexual and violent content.
Its disturbing but a excellent film.