Book Review: Miss Marjoribanks (by Margaret Oliphant)

Capable, intelligent, and single-minded, Miss Majoribanks is on a two-pronged mission: to be a comfort to her dear papa, and to reorganize Carlingford society. Along the way she stumbles against stupidity, secrecy, and misunderstanding, but nothing daunts Lucilla Marjoribanks or holds out against her benevolent, if somewhat dictatorial, sway.

Miss Marjoribanks has a long book to match her long name; longer than anything Jane Austen wrote, it stops just short of being truly long. Little Women is probably a fair comparison for length.

Although the book falls squarely in the category “girl story”, I give Miss Marjoribanks a 15+ recommendation for it’s subtle humor, complex plot, and lengthy character development.

As is usual in my book reviews, you can skip straight to the bottom for a brief recap or read on through for all the detail!

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August 20, 2026 0

Finally: The Ashburn Family

This post needs to begin with an apology. Not that I think there are too many people who regularly read my blog, and the one who does (thanks Sarah) long ago received a much more personal notification, but it is just embarrassing that it’s taken me well over a year to announce my first published book anywhere on my website.

So without further ado, here’s what I spent summer of 2021-22 writing. (Before you wonder how long I think summer is, I was in the southern hemisphere.)

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December 1, 2024 0

Book Review: The Long Roll (by Mary Johnston)

Richard Cleave and Maury Stafford each suspect Judith Cary of a preference for the other—but while that makes Richard resolve to keep Maury alive as they both fight for their native Virginia, Maury decides to do his best to ruin Richard’s army career. Who will come out alive and more importantly, who does Judith want to come out alive?

The Long Roll is, well, long. I suppose it’s about as long as Dickens’ Bleak House or Martin Chuzzlewit and that, my friends, is long.

It’s pretty blood-and-gutsy and also has a significant amount of profanity, besides being long—and potentially a little confusing, I would think, for someone not fairly familiar with the outlines of the War Between the States. I rate it 17+, though a younger teen who loves long slow wartime stories (if there be such a person) might also enjoy it.

Jump straight to the end for a brief summary and ebook link, or read on through for the details.

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September 17, 2024 0

Book Review: Jan of the Windmill (by Juliana Horatia Ewing)

Jan tries hard to be a miller’s boy… but his natural talent for painting keeps shining through. Yet wherever he goes and whatever success life brings to him, he’ll always remember his foster-family and always be proud of his “miller’s thumb.”

Jan of the Windmill is around the length of Anne of Green Gables or A Little Princess.

The story revolves around a young boy who eventually becomes a successful painter through his patience and hard work, but the writing style is not the simplest, so it’d probably be hard to follow for those younger than 11+.

You’ll find my brief conclusion and a link to the book if you skip to the end—or read on through if you want all the details!

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September 27, 2022 0

Book Review: An Old-Fashioned Girl (by Louisa May Alcott)

Polly the country girl is off on a visit to her city friend Fanny—and Fanny’s rich, somewhat dissipated lifestyle throws several perplexing challenges in Polly’s way. How will Polly do walking the tightrope between sticking stubbornly out like a sore thumb and letting worldly wisdom spoil her?

An Old-Fashioned Girl isn’t a long book—shorter than Anne of Green Gables, around the length of The Railway Children or The Scarlet Pimpernel.

The book is written for a young girl audience—it’s probably aimed at 10+ but a younger audience might enjoy hearing it read too. It’s thoughtful enough that older readers may also find it interesting.

As usual, jump to the end if you just want a brief conclusion, or go straight through for all the details!

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February 10, 2022 0

Book Review: Little Dorrit (by Charles Dickens)

Born and raised in a debtor’s prison, with a broken father, a haughty sister, and a thoughtless brother, Amy Dorrit’s patient, gentle character is still able to find happiness in serving others. But when her father inherits a vast estate and is suddenly freed, her old life is relentlessly swept away—the old friendships and simple pleasures as well as the old hardships and trials. How will Amy cope with the wealth that instantly spoils the rest of her family?

Little Dorrit is no afternoon read—it’s long, rivalling Bleak House, War and Peace, or The Count of Monte Cristo.

Given its length and Dickens’ literary writing style, Little Dorrit would be hard for younger readers to wade through, but readers 15+ would likely enjoy the book. Readers is a key word though—if you don’t like reading much, Little Dorrit is not the book for you!

Jump straight to the bottom to avoid spoilers and catch my brief conclusion along with a link to the ebook, or read on through for the details!

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February 3, 2022 0

Book Review: The Circuit Rider (by Edward Eggleston)

Set in a bygone era of second generation pioneers, The Circuit Rider commemorates a little remembered group of heroic men—early Methodist preachers who gave up comfort, convenience, and sometimes even their lives in order to ride their preaching circuits and establish their church on the very borders of civilization.

The Circuit Rider is not a very long book—it’s around the length of Anne of Green Gables or Northanger Abbey. I’m having a bit of trouble estimating its age range—the plot is not super complex and might be interesting to some young readers, but it’s historical side and just Eggleston’s writing tone in general is aimed for a slightly older audience, say 15+.

You can jump straight to the end if you’d like to read my brief conclusion on the book and find a link to the ebook—or read on through for all the details!

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January 27, 2022 0

Book Review: Hard Times (by Charles Dickens)

Sissy Jupe is the abandoned daughter of a poor clown—Louisa Bounderby is the rich wife of one of Coketown’s magnates. But Sissy lives a happy, healthful life of love to others, while Louisa’s upbringing has made her cold, hard, and tired of life. When will Mr. Gradgrind, Louisa’s father and Sissy’s adopted father, compare the two and learn his mistake?

For a full-fledged Dickens novel, Hard Times is short. It’s about as long as Tom Sawyer or Anne of Green Gables.

Hard Times is largely a social critique, which I doubt would be interesting or intelligible to younger readers. It also has a fairly dark plotline. I think it would be suitable for readers 17+.

If you’re just looking for a brief recap, jump to the end where you’ll find my three sentence conclusion. If you need more details, read on!

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October 27, 2021 0

Book Review: Sense and Sensibility (by Jane Austen)

Two sisters, but with two very different practical approaches to life, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood react to their trials and disappointments in characteristically different ways—Elinor, sensible and steady, is calm, reasonable, and self-controlled; Marianne, sensitive and impulsive, would despise herself if she could be calm or self-controlled in the face of her own joys or sorrows. How will she learn her mistake—and will learning it change her or crush her?

Sense and Sensibility is a moderately long book; it’s not impossible to read it in a day, but you probably won’t get a whole lot else done. It’s about the same length as Pride and Prejudice, probably a little shorter than Little Women.

It hasn’t got a very exciting plot in any adventurous way and I can’t imagine a very young reader would be able to understand it too well. I rank it at 15+.

Jump to the end for a short concluding analysis, or read straight on through for more detail!

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October 13, 2021 0

Book Review: Dombey and Son (by Charles Dickens)

Mr. Dombey is the proud father of a son born to greatness—until little Paul Dombey dies. Then he’s only a proud man who happens to have a daughter. Florence Dombey grows up unloved and unappreciated—but not being there when she needed him will come back to haunt Mr. Dombey when he needs her.

Dombey and Son is a longish book, a little shorter than Bleak House or Our Mutual Friend. Almost twice as long as something like Pride and Prejudice or Little Women.

The book largely revolves around humbling Mr. Dombey—not an easy thing to do. His pride resists every fall, and he really has to come desperately low. Besides that, the explanation and illustration(s) of his pride itself are a little complex and likely to go over a young reader’s head. Usually, that kind of complexity is second layer in a book and a reader can enjoy the plot without it, but in this case it’s pretty central. I would give Dombey and Son a 17 or even 18+ rating; I’m not sure a younger teen would really be able to appreciate it.

As usual, you can jump straight to the bottom for my brief concluding opinion, or read straight through for all the spoiler-laden details.

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October 6, 2021 0