Introduce Yourself!

[MsGourmet40]

I a slight blunder in my intro please forgive me - I meant the Virgin Blue was my utmost Favorite of Tracy's books. I also bought one of the tapestries that was from the Lady and the Unicorn. I wanted one since I went Belguim before the book had been published and this one fit with my decor - Thanks for the inspiration, Tracy!

[ziki]

Hi,
I first saw the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring which made me buy the book because I heard the end in the book was different. Didn't Tracy started a mini-trend of books based on paintings? Then I must admit I got totally derailed when I attempted to read the Fallen Angels; sorry to say I didn't make it through that book at that time and I didn't make an effort to read the other books either. Now as I follow your comments here I feel inspired and I think I'll join you in reading this book. It seems to have a determined heroine.

Hello to both old and new friends.

ziki

[katharineclark]

I am a public librarian and am reviewing Tracy's new books for our our library webpage review section MadReads www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/madreads
I normally don't read alot of historical fiction but I really enjoy Tracy Chevalier and Sarah Dunant (interestingly enough both authors began as mystery writers).
Before my 7 years with the library I worked for Barnes for two years, but this is the first time I have posted on this online book discussion site. It's a great idea.
Katharine Clark

[cgoldie]

Greetings Everyone:

As a history and art buff and a bibliophile, I love the work of Tracy Chevalier and I cannot wait to crack open Burning Bright. Blake was a real radical when he was doing his thing and I happen to think this is a wonderful thing for the world.

I am Christine, a paralegal/research analyst by day and an author/artist/book discussion organizer and facilitator by every free breathing moment of my life. I hold an MFA-IA (Interdisciplinary Arts) and Blake was one of the interdisciplinary practitioners who I studied and still study.

I believe in the power of fiction and I believe it is a wonderful resource to compel readers to delve into facts and notions explored in novels and short stories.

So, I am happy to be here among such a marvelously diverse group. I look forward to reading and responding to posts.

Sincerely,
Christine Goldbeck
www.christinegoldbeck.com
www.minecountry.com

[cgoldie]

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PoseiBoateng wrote:
I live in Olney, but I work in Bethesda.

The Virgin Blue was an incredibly written book, while I love Pride and Prejudice, The Virgin Blue was the book that inspired me to start writing! I can't say enough about it, and for those of you who haven't read it yet, it's a MUST!

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Wow! What was it about the book that made you start writing again? That's pretty powerful inspiration.

I know what you mean, though, because reading Tracy inspires me to head to my easel or grab my camera. As I progress on the writing on my hyperfiction and add another story within the story, you will see that she is one of the authors whom my story characters give the highest praise.

Sincerely,
Christine

[Razzi]

Hey everyone, "Razzi" here (my nickname as I'm sure you figured out). My favorite Tracy Chevalier book was Girl with a Pearl Earring then I would have to say The Lady and the Unicorn is a close second. I just picked up Burning Bright and am anxious to get started!!
Raz

[LizzieAnn]

Hi Chiosya,

Great to be in another discussion with you, and I'm looking forward not only to your insights on this book but information on Blake. I have to see that reading this book has made me more interested in him. While I've heard of him, naturally, I've never read anything of his. Now I plan to!

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Choisya wrote:
Hello Everyone! I am an elderly widow living Over the Pond, about 20 miles north of London, with my black cat. I read Girl with a Pearl Ear-ring (and saw the lovely film) and am looking forward to reading this book of Ms Chevalier's with folks here. (I wonder if a film will be made of Burning Bright too?) I am a 'veteran' of BNU/BNBC and enjoy these discussions very much, especially in the wee small hours of the morning when I can't sleep!

[kiakar]

Hello, I have been a great fan of Tracy's since when. Reading all of her novels, I have found she is a writer with magic in her fingertips. It turns to magic when you read it anyway. I loved Girl with perarl earrings and The lady and the unicorn. This one is really getting on up there in ratings also with me. I am from Central Va. and am retired and read constantly. Of course I do other things, but reading and discussing books are my favorite things.

[marps]

Hi! My name is Marsha and I'm just joining. This is the first book I've read of yours Tracy and I'm really enjoying it. Being an artist, I had meant to read Girl With the Pearl Earring but I never quite got there. I'm a 60 year old Grandmother of two young women (20 & 19), but I'm still in the work force unfortunately. I love to read, draw, and paint in oils. (Oh, and I have an undergraduate degree in Art, and most of one in Comparitive Religion completed.)

[Choisya]

Hi Lizzie Ann and thanks! It is unusual and most welcome to have a novel featuring William Blake, one of my favourite 18C radicals. Here is a nice website from the Tate Gallery featuring Blake:-

http://www.tate.org.uk/learning/learnonline/blakeinteractive/

I was particularly interested in Tracy's mention of the 'Lambeth Association' (The Society of Loyal Britons in Southwark) which was one of many such Associations. As well as Blake's writing, the publication of Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man, caused a sensation because of its eloquent defence of the French Revolution (just as he later supported the American Revolution). It praised the downfall of the French ruling classes and urged the establishment of a democracy and the acceptance of 'universal right of citizenship'. He urged people to rise up and rebel against what he believed were generations of oppression. (Shades of Milton and the Civil War here too!) People began to question their place in society and the established order of things. Radicals demonstrated in Edinburgh on the King's birthday in 1792 and planted 'trees of liberty' throughout Britain, which led to the law protecting individuals from imprisonment without trial (Habeas corpus) being suspended in 1794, and a law banning 'seditious meetings' was passed a year later. It became almost impossible for radicals to meet without breaking the law and so underground pamphlets, like those published by Blake, were widely circulated in the coffee houses instead.

Paine was challenging Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) which argued that ideas such as democracy and the 'rights of man' attacked the very beliefs upon which Britain's 'constitution' was based. People began to form political societies based on Paine's ideas, and many openly advocated revolution. During 1792 when war against France was at its closest, loyalist groups such as the 'Lambeth Association' mentioned by Tracy, were set up throughout Britain. Their aim was to organise patriotic, anti-French forces in defence of king and country. Effigies of Thomas Paine, who had fled to France, were burned in the streets and people associated with him, like William Blake, lived in fear of their lives.

It is important to remember that many intellectuals and their followers had supported the French Revolution, the overthrow of a tyrannical king, and the ideas of 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity', before the 'Reign of Terror' took place (1793-1794), which disillusioned many. The ideas behind it for an end to 'divine' kingship, equal rights before the law and votes for all had been around since Milton's day and had long been fomenting in Europe. And of course they were also the ideas behind the American Revolution and the founding of America as a republican, democratic state.

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LizzieAnn wrote:
Hi Chiosya,

Great to be in another discussion with you, and I'm looking forward not only to your insights on this book but information on Blake. I have to see that reading this book has made me more interested in him. While I've heard of him, naturally, I've never read anything of his. Now I plan to!

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Choisya wrote:
Hello Everyone! I am an elderly widow living Over the Pond, about 20 miles north of London, with my black cat. I read Girl with a Pearl Ear-ring (and saw the lovely film) and am looking forward to reading this book of Ms Chevalier's with folks here. (I wonder if a film will be made of Burning Bright too?) I am a 'veteran' of BNU/BNBC and enjoy these discussions very much, especially in the wee small hours of the morning when I can't sleep!

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Message Edited by Choisya on 05-03-200705:13 AM

[Choisya]

Hello from Over the Pond Marsha - nice to see someone else who has studied comparative religion which I 'minored' (as Americans say) in many moons ago. The Paradise Lost discussion may be of interest to you.

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marps wrote:
Hi! My name is Marsha and I'm just joining. This is the first book I've read of yours Tracy and I'm really enjoying it. Being an artist, I had meant to read Girl With the Pearl Earring but I never quite got there. I'm a 60 year old Grandmother of two young women (20 & 19), but I'm still in the work force unfortunately. I love to read, draw, and paint in oils. (Oh, and I have an undergraduate degree in Art, and most of one in Comparitive Religion completed.)

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[LizzieAnn]

Thanks for the link Choisya. I found Blake an interesting character in this book, and enjoyed the bits of poetry. Enough so that I'm thinking of reading some (and I'm not a poetry-reader in general ) of his poetry.

[pook]

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Amanda_R wrote:
Hello, Tracy Chevalier Fans!

To help us all get to know each other as we discuss Burning Bright, feel free to post an introductory message in this area to tell us a bit about yourself.

Are you a longtime reader of Chevalier's novels, or is this your first? What drew you to our discussion? Who are some of your other favorite writers in this genre?

Do tell...

Amanda

Message Edited by Amanda_R on 04-24-200704:00 PM

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Hello readers! I an avid reader and I love Tracy Chevalier's books. The one that tops my list is the Virgin Blue. However, all of her books have such amazing historical details that I really feel as though I am learning while being entertained. I was in Paris recently and was able to see the tapestries that are in the Lady and the Unicorn located in the Museum of the Middle Ages. Currently I am a stay at home mom outside of Boston and I am attempting to read two books a week while chasing after my daughter who is learning to walk! I look forward to finishing Burning Bright as it has already held my attention for the first half of the book.

[PMu5803436]

Hi Everyone! My name is Pam and I am very excited to join this group. Began Burning Bright last night but am not too far into the book yet. I am from NC and love to read. Have my own personal library of about 70 'to read' books that I have purchased -- figure if I have them on hand they will be easier to access when I want to read something. Up until a few weeks ago, I was reading several books a week -- but then found that I am to be a first time grandmother and have been doing a lot of knitting (cutting into my reading time).

I have read Tracy Chevalier's Girl With the Pearl Earring, Fallen Angels, Lady and the Unicorn and Virgin Blue -- I've enjoyed them all but Girl With the Pearl Earring was my first and that one hooked me on reading the rest.

I know very little about William Blake but he sure promises to be a very interesting character and look forward to learning about him in Burning Bright.

As someone else said, I was not an English major or minor -- I'm just someone who truly loves to read and to learn.

[madstitcher5]

Hello everybody...I'm MaryAnn and have finished Burning Bright. Tracy Chevalier is one of my favorite authors. Like alot of you, I read Girl With Pearl Earring first, then had to read the rest.I just automatically order her new book without knowing the plot. I sent you an e-mail Tracy, concerning a suggestion for a book and received a kind reply. I wish someone would write a big fat historical fiction book about Mary Queen of Scotts and the role her needlework played during her years of incarceration.
My other obsession is needlepoint. Needless to say, Lady and the Unicorn is my favorite Chevalier book.

Are any of you out there just in love with books for the love of books? I like hardbacks so much better than paperbacks. I love the smell of a new book ,the crisp feel of unread paper. I like used hardbacks, but not so crazy about used library books. I buy used books from B&N sellers in hardback. They can be the same price as paper or sometimes less.I like looking at them in the bookcases with the colorful jackets. I love holding them and the feel of them. Since I've discovered the book clubs this spring, I'm having to give away books to my children.

I'm reading Whitethorn Woods, The Woods, Paradise Lost. I have The Road, Daddy's Girl, Emma Einstein, and Dorothea Benton Frank's The Land Of Mango Sunsets and many more waiting. I'm going to participate in Virginia Woolf's The Lighthouse.AHHH So Many Books, So Little Time.

[cookie]

Great to have you here !
Philippa Gregory is working on Mary Queen of Scots - I don't know if it has a needlepoint element to it though

[madstitcher5]

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cookie wrote:
Great to have you here !
Philippa Gregory is working on Mary Queen of Scots - I don't know if it has a needlepoint element to it though

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Thanks Cookie...In an e-mail to Tracy Chevalier, I suggested she write a novel about Mary, Queen of Scots and her needlepoint. Her lovely assistant said Tracy felt Philippa Gregory would do a wonderful book on that topic. I had no idea she was already writing it. I'll look forward to reading it. Do you know when it will be published?

Mary, Queen of Scots spent her incarceration time needlepointing with her "Hostess/Keeper" Bess of Hardwick. She would wait for the men artists to come and draw on the canvas, patterns to be stitched. The designs were usually taken from books on animals of the world, known at that time. She and Bess would eagerly select the threads of wool, silk and metallic to bring the canvases to life. They would stitch patches to be appliqued onto a another large fabric for wall hangings.

It was rumored that Mary sent covert messages to her followers using her needlepoint as secret messages. This book would have it all. Suspense,thrills, murder, love affairs, imprisonment,and beheadings. It would be an interesting way to learn some history of the embroideresses, beautiful textiles, and life as a prisoner in a castle with your best friend as your jailer. It would have some fiction, of course!

[cookie]

From Philippa:
[quote="Philippa"]I hope you like my next book which will come out this fall or next spring. it will be called The Other Queen and is about Mary Queen of Scots during her long imprisonment in England. She lived with Bess of Hardwick (another extraordinary Tudor woman) and her husband the Earl of Shrewsbury. I found the combination of characters and events really fascinating.[/quote]

I'm sure it will be a fascinating story.

Message Edited by cookie on 05-09-200708:59 AM

[Choisya]

As a child I lived very near to one of Bess of Hardwick's castles - Bolsover in Derbyshire. So many stories were told about her that I began to have quite wild dreams about the castle. One of them was cycling around the battlements on my fairy cycle until I fell, fell, fell....and often woke up crying!

http://www.derbyshireuk.net/bolsover_castle.html

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/tpau/projects/bcd/

Message Edited by Choisya on 05-08-200705:07 PM

[cookie]

Thank you for those links !
I'm going to post them on Philippa's board now