September 2015 - time period

I just noticed that we haven't started thinking about September yet. As usual I have copied the list of potential topics from the wiki and put them below. The HistoryCAT time period for Sept is 1800-1850.

Time Periods Under Consideration

Ancient Near East
Ancient Americas
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece (pre-Alexander)
Age of Alexander
Norman Conquest
Exploration of the Far East
New World Discovery/Colonization era
European exploration/colonization of Africa
Great Awakening
Settling the American West
Age of industrialization
Reconstruction
The Golden Years 1890's - 1914
Russian Revolution
prohibition
Korean War era
African independence ("decolonization")
Space Age
Post 9/11

So let's see what interests everybody for September. All suggestions welcome. Any new suggestions can be added onto the wiki list.

I'm not doing HistoryCAT; but for the sake of those who are, I generally vote for whatever HistoryCAT is doing. So I'm inclined to go with 1800-1850 — and I can get on with my Austen reread, maybe at least get to Emma if nothing else.

I don't do historyCAT either so I'm up for anything.

How long has it been since we've done New World/Colonization? I'd be interested in that, though not necessarily American colonies since I think we've done that within the past couple of years.

I will be the host of the September HistoryCat, so I will probably be reading a few books in that time period. I guess it's pretty obvious where my vote will go!

I've got a couple already lined up for the September HistoryCat 1800-1850 time period. That's my preference.

>4 cfk: Wouldn't New World/Colonization be the time frame we're doing this month (17th century)?

You're right--July is the 17th century. I've been so focused on the quarterly read for WW II that I've managed to miss the July period completely.

It looks like most people are willing to go with the time period of 1800-1850 so lets lock it in.

Sounds good. I'm going with Longbourn by Jo Baker.

>10 countrylife:, I read that and liked it.

I am planning on reading the following books, all set between 1800 - 1850:

Venetia by Georgette Heyer
Under the Jolly Roger by L.A. Meyer
A Gathering of Days by Joan Blos

I'm about to start What Angels Fear, the first Sebastian St. Cyr mystery. The blurb says it is set in 1811.

I have finished What Angels Fear, the wonderful historical mystery introducing Sebastian St. Cyr written by C S Harris. I managed to read book 5 in the series a couple of years ago. I enjoyed it then but I think it would have been better had I read the preceding books first. The book is set against the backdrop of Prince George taking the regency, so the politics were quite interesting.

So far, I have completed Venetia and A Gathering of Days. Even though I wasn't all that taken with the character of Venetia, I still enjoyed this read. A Gathering Of Days was also very well done, but as a YA, I didn't find there was enough information on some of the more serious issues, like slavery, that was mentioned in passing.

I completed The Jane Austen Handbook. I had hoped it would put references in Austen's novels in a broader social context, but instead it drew conclusions about social life from the novels themselves.

I just finished Miss Miles: or a Tale of Yorkshire Life 60 Years Ago by Mary Taylor who (with Ellen Nussey) was one of Charlotte Bronte's two BBFs from boarding-school days at Margaret Wooler's school at Roe Head. Taylor was the particularly adventuresome of the three and emigrated to New Zealand, where she eventually made enough money from a general store to be able to return to England and take up "the woman's question" without financial dependency on anyone. For Taylor, a woman's "first duty" was to be financially self-supporting and not dependent on men. Taylor was portrayed in CB's Shirley in the person of Rose Yorke; and, while she appreciated CB's favorable portrait of the character, she disagreed with CB on "social issues"; and, in contrast with CB the Tory Anglican, Taylor was a Radical Dissenter. Miss Miles, set in "Shirley country," can be seen as Shirley written from a working-class and feminist POV. Published in 1890, it is set in Yorkshire in the 1830s.

I did read Longbourn by Jo Baker for this time period. Didn't like it as much as I'd hoped.
Also read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. Setting was late1700s to early 1800s, so much of the book fit in this time period. Didn't add it to the wiki, since it didn't fit in its entirety. I liked this one much better than Longbourn.

>18 countrylife:, I've read both of those books too, a while ago though. I also liked both of them.