152. Agent 355 by Marie Benedict

listened on Audible

narrated by Emily Rankin

Unabridged audio (2:07)
2020
85 pgs. estimated
Adult Historical Fiction (American Revolution)
Finished 12/13/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.67 - 3251 ratings
My rating: 3.5

What I posted on Goodreads:  

My comments: An historical fiction based on the possibility of real facts.  Using details gleaned from many sources, it is know that there was a female spy during the revolution that helped catch Benedict Arnold before his traitorous actions were too debilitating for America. This story is the author's imagining of what could have actually happened.  Interesting, much more so after hearing the author's afterward, the details about the real possible people involved.

Goodreads synopsis:  From Marie Benedict, best-selling author of The Only Woman in the Room and Lady Clementine, comes a captivating work of historical fiction about a young female spy who may have changed the course of American History.
          The tide is turning against the colonists in the Revolutionary War, and 18-year-old Elizabeth Morris cannot sit by idly. Quietly disdainful of her Tory parents, who drag her along to society events and welcome a British soldier into their home during their occupation of New York City, Elizabeth decides to take matters into her own hands. She realizes that, as a young woman, no one around her believes that she can comprehend the profound implications of being a nation at war - she is, effectively, invisible. And she can use this invisibility to her advantage. Her unique access to British society leads her to a role with General George Washington's own network of spies: the Culper Ring.
          Based on true events, Agent 355 combines adventure, romance, and espionage to bring to life this little-known story of a hero who risked her life to fight for freedom against all odds.

13. Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness

listened to Audio - borrowed from CCLS
read by Saskia Maarleveld
unabridged audio:  15:46
2018, Viking
436 pgs.
Adult Fantasy/Historical Fiction
Finished 1/27/2019
Goodreads rating:  3.89 - 12,147 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: (see my notes)

First line/s:  "On her last night as a warmblood, Phoebe Taylor had been a good daughter."

My comments: This story was written so magically and brilliantly that I'm left quite star-struck.  Deborah Harkness has the same kind of storytelling abilities as J. K. Rowling, who frequently leaves me in awe.  Where do these stories and the way they are intertwined come from?  Such a gift!  Flipping back and forth from contemporary France to historical America, Paris, and London of 1770 through the beginning of the 19th century, we follow favorite characters from the Discovery of Witches series, particularly Marcus, Miriam, and Diana and Matthew and their toddler twins.  So much history is detailed, especially the American and French Revolutions. Yes, it was a little slow during the French Revolution, but the details of being "reborn" were a blast!   I learned a lot of American History.  And I was mesmerized.  Such wonderful storytelling!

Goodreads synopsis:  From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches, a novel about what it takes to become a vampire. 
          On the battlefields of the American Revolution, Matthew de Clermont meets Marcus MacNeil, a young surgeon from Massachusetts, during a moment of political awakening when it seems that the world is on the brink of a brighter future. When Matthew offers him a chance at immortality and a new life free from the restraints of his puritanical upbringing, Marcus seizes the opportunity to become a vampire. But his transformation is not an easy one and the ancient traditions and responsibilities of the de Clermont family clash with Marcus's deeply held beliefs in liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
          Fast-forward to contemporary Paris, where Phoebe Taylor—the young employee at Sotheby's whom Marcus has fallen for—is about to embark on her own journey to immortality. Though the modernized version of the process at first seems uncomplicated, the couple discovers that the challenges facing a human who wishes to be a vampire are no less formidable than they were in the eighteenth century. The shadows that Marcus believed he'd escaped centuries ago may return to haunt them both—forever.
          A passionate love story and a fascinating exploration of the power of tradition and the possibilities not just for change but for revolution, Time's Convert channels the supernatural world-building and slow-burning romance that made the All Souls Trilogy instant bestsellers to illuminate a new and vital moment in history, and a love affair that will bridge centuries.

Henry Knox, Bookseller, Soldier, Patriot - Anita Silvey

Illustrated by Wendell Minor
Clarion Books, 2010, $17.99
40 pgs.
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Lt. Blue map bordered by smaller illustrations.
Illustrations: Acrylic on gessoed wood panels.

This biography made the American Revolution come alive for me, more so than anything I've read in recent memory. And since I've visited Fort Knox in Bucksport, Maine, many times and know of the U. S. gold bullion depository of the same name in Kentucky, the name was familiar. But I knew no particulars about the man. Now I do.

Anita Silvey has created an informative, interesting story. She uses primary sources
- including Knox's own journals and diaries - and seems to have researched extensively. This would be an excellent addition to a study of colonial America, the American Revolution, or a unit on biographies.

At 25, Henry Knox completed the seemingly impossible task of transporting a convoy of huge cannons 300 miles from Ft. Ticonderoga in New York to General Washington in Boston. It was the turning point in the defense of the city of Boston. And from that point onward, Knox appears to have become General Washington's right-hand man and advisor.

Also included are pieces of information on Knox's childhood and marriage (to a Tory!) that add interest.

12. Chains - Laurie Halse Anderson

Audio read by Madisun Leigh
Brilliance Audio, 2008
7 unabridged cds: 8 hours
320 pages
Rating: 4- an excellent read

Anything and everything bad that could happen to a slave happened to the protagonist in this book.