Mansfield Park - A Review
Posted on Feb. 20, 2008 at 3:17 PM
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Last May I finished reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.
Jane Austen lived in England from December 16, 1775 to July 18, 1817. She never married and lived with her family until her early death. She was the seventh of eight children. She had one older sister, Cassandra and six brothers. Her father was the rector of the parish in Steventon for about 40 years. She wrote several other works including, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. All of her works, published in her lifetime, were done so anonymously. The author of the books was known as “a Lady”. Mansfield Park was Miss Austen’s third published novel.
Miss Austen started writing Mansfield Park around 1811. And was finished in 1813. It appears that the book was first published in the year 1814. The book was three volumes in one, each 18, 13, and 17 chapters long. More modern versions of this book are usually one volume containing 48 chapters. The version I read was an Oxford Illustrated and was as like as possible to the first edition, with a few modifications from the 1816 publication.
Mansfield Park centers around a young lady named Fanny Price. Her family is in a state of great poverty so at the age of 10 she goes to live in the house of her rich uncle and his family at Mansfield Park. Fanny grows up rapidly and by Chapter 3 she has reached the age of 18, where she stays for nearly the rest of the book. Fanny is very timid among her relations when she first arrives. Sir Thomas her uncle is very stern looking, grave and reserved. His wife Lady Bertram does not frighten her - Fanny loves her. Tom and Edmund her cousins, are rather older than her and being quite tall they intimidate her. Their sisters Maria and Julia look down upon her and make her uncomfortable and Mrs. Norris, another of here aunts is always giving her too many rules and trying to make Fanny feel as low and humble as possible. After Edmund befriends her, Fanny gradually becomes much more comfortable. Tom is kind to her and Fanny is always happy to be with her Aunt Bertram. The books shows Fanny as she watches the behavior of her cousins as they prepare for marriage. She struggles as she watches and listens to the hopes and plans of the man she loves, of marrying a women whose character is deficient of the good qualities it ought to posses. The man is blind to her character deficiencies. The book ends very well.
My favorite character is Fanny Price. She is so gentle, sweet, unselfish and loving to everyone, whether it be her rather lazy Aunt Bertram, her nagging and bossy Aunt Norris, proud Mary Crawford, her beloved brother William or her kind cousin Edmund. She is always ready to do anything (as long as it is not wrong) for anyone.
I would recommend this book as highly as Sense and Sensibility and that is very high. Mansfield Park is definitely one of my new favorites!
Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter
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The Lie Evolution - A Review
Posted on Oct. 16, 2007 at 5:42 PM
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Several months ago I read The Lie: Evolution by Ken Ham. It had been on my book-wish list for a long time.
Ken Ham was born and raised in Australia. He was raised by parents who were devoutly Christian. Mr. Ham came to the United States of America in 1987. In 1993 he founded Answers in Genesis with Mike Zovath and Mark Looy under the name of "Creation Science Ministries. In 1994 the board of Creation Science Ministries changed the name to Answers in Genesis. Answers in Genesis is a ministry that seeks to show the reliability of the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelations 21:21. He and his wife Mally have five children and four grandchildren.
The first printing of this book was in July of 1987. In January of 2006 the book had its 27th printing. The Lie: Evolution is published by Master Books. It contains 11 chapters along with 2 appendices.
The Lie: Evolution “deals with the relevance of a literal Genesis.” (Introduction, page 16) In the book Mr. Ham seeks to point out the many fallacies of the Evolutionary Theory. (Scientifically it is really a hypothesis!) Mr. Ham shows how a national belief in evolution has undermined our society. It has eaten away our foundations. The compromise of the church with evolution has been especially fatal. Instead of upholding Gods infallible word we (His church) have made people distrust the first chapters of Genesis. When that happened, people started to distrust the rest of God‘s Word. After all, if you cannot trust the beginning, how can you trust the end?
I really enjoyed the conversational style of this book. It is written as though Mr. Ham were just having a friendly chat with the reader.
This book is excellent and a real eye opener. I would very highly recommend it.
Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter
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Beautiful Girlhood - A Review
Posted on Oct. 9, 2007 at 5:08 PM
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Some months ago I had the pleasure of reading Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale.
Mabel Hale lived in the early nineteen hundreds. She had one daughter named Cleora. Beautiful Girlhood is dedicated to Mrs. Hale’s “daughter and her comrades who are now walking the way of girlhood.” Mrs. Hale was also the author of several short articles and stories written for children such as: “What is Your Motto?”, “Play Fair” and “Lola Beebe’s Fault”. Mrs. Hale also wrote a series of essays about habits which are very interesting.
Beautiful Girlhood was published in the early nineteen hundreds by Warner Press, Anderson, Indiana. After the death of Mrs. Hale the book was republished by Church of Christ, Mennonite with permission from the previous publisher and Mrs. Hale’s daughter. Mrs. Karen Andreola revised Beautiful Girlhood and it was then published by Great Expectations Book Company in 1993. The Beautiful Girlhood I read was published by Barbour Publishing Inc. in 2001. The book was unrevised and as far as I know, true to the original publication.
In this book, Mrs. Hale seeks to impart wisdom to young girls just passing from childhood to womanhood in that time called girlhood, however I believe that a anyone passed girlhood could still gain much wisdom from the reading of this book. Topics include: “Friendships”, “Making Friends of Books”, “The Strength of Obedience”, “A Pure Heart”, “The Waking of the Love Nature”, “A Christian”, “The Beauty of Truthfulness” and many more.
This is a very good book and is written from a Christian perspective. However, I do not agree with the authors view of a woman with a career outside the home. She promoted it as a good thing, whereas I strongly believe that the Bible calls women to be Keepers at Home. In “Choosing A Lifework” Mrs. Hale suggests and promotes various careers for women, though to do her credit I must mention that she does advocate homemaking as a worthy “lifework”.
I would recommend this book to girls who are about 13 years of age and older.
Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter
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Pride and Prejudice - A Review
Posted on Sep. 18, 2007 at 4:09 PM
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In this past summer I had the pleasure of reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for the second time.
Jane Austen lived in England from December 16, 1775 to July 18, 1817. She never married and lived with her family until her early death. She was the seventh of eight children. She had one older sister, Cassandra and six brothers. Her father was the rector of the parish in Steventon for about 40 years. She wrote several other works including, Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility. All of her works, published in her lifetime, were done so anonymously. The author of the books was known as “a Lady”. Pride and Prejudice was Miss Austen’s second published novel.
Miss Austen first wrote Pride and Prejudice between 1796 -1797. It was then titled First Impressions. It was offered for publication under this name but the offer was declined. Miss Austen later revised First Impressions and in 1813 the book was published under the title of Pride and Prejudice. The original book and some copies today were written in three volumes bound into one book. The first volume contained 23 chapters and the last two contained 29 chapters each. Most publications of this book are now printed with one volume containing 81 chapters. The Pride and Prejudice I read was an Oxford Illustrated. It was published as like as possible as the original publication of 1813.
Pride and Prejudice focuses on the Bennett family: the cool and sarcastic Mr. Bennett, the silly and nerve suffering Mrs. Bennett, the well thinking Jane, the playful Elizabeth, the studious Mary, the easily led Catherine and the ridiculous Lydia. Mrs. Bennett is determined to get all of her five daughters married to rich men. There is a problem however: at a time when money, connections and position mean a great deal in marriage, Mr. Bennett’s property is entailed to his cousin, not left to his daughters. On marriage none of the girls would be able to bring their new husbands money or connections and their position in society, though not very low, was not very high either. The majority of the book focuses on Jane and Elizabeth. Jane finds a man to love and loses him. Elizabeth enjoys hating Mr. Darcy for his behavior to towards another man - until she receives some shocking revelations. The book ends with one of the best of endings.
One aspect of this book that I really liked was Jane’s habit of always thinking the best of people even in the worst of circumstances.
This is a book I would highly recommend.
Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter
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"Victorian and Edwardian Fashion a Photographic Survey" - A Review
Posted on Jul. 7, 2007 at 5:07 PM
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Just before our vacation in the end of March, I finished reading “Victorian and Edwardian Fashion a Photographic Survey” by Alison Gernsheim for our study of England.
Alison Gernsheim was a woman with a fascination for clothing fashions throughout history. Her main interest seems to have been the clothing fashions in Europe. From what I gather she was born and raised in England. She was in London when she wrote the Preface to the book. Mrs. Gernsheim was married, but all I know of her husband is from a passing comment in the book mentioning that he had a beard.
“Victorian and Edwardian Fashion a Photographic Survey” was first published under the name “Fashion and Reality (1840 - 1914)” in the year 1963 by Faber and Faber, London. My copy of this book was published by Dover Publications. It is an unabridged version of the original.
“Victorian and Edwardian Fashion a Photographic Survey” is a detailed look at the clothing habits of European men, women and children in the Victorian and Edwardian periods. It contains 235 black and white photographs of both men and woman of all ages. If you have ever wondered how women did their hair in 1842, what hat was made popular by Prince Albert of England or how many coats and pairs of gloves a man had to own for a single day, then you may be interested in reading this book. (I assure you the amount of coats and gloves a man had to wear in a single day was amazing!)
I really enjoyed this book. One of my favorite portions was the many pictures dating from 1840 onward. Though I want to give a warning that unfortunately there are 3 or 4 rather immodest photographs. We intend to cover them by taping pieces of paper in front of them in our copy.
I also want to give warning that this book contains some very sarcastic remarks. Many are amusing, but there are a few (mainly quotes from period articles and essays) that are ridiculing in their manner and are therefore rather offensive.
Notwithstanding these flaws, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in studying clothing fashion in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter
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The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters ~ A Review
Posted on Apr. 27, 2007 at 7:10 PM
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I recently finished reading “The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters” for our study of England.
The real authors of this book are the survivors of the Titanic, but the book was edited by Logan Marshall.
The book was first published in 1912, just months after the Titanic sank. After a while the book went out of print. It is now published by Vision Forum. The book is divided into 29 chapters which are further divided into individually titled sections.
The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters is a detailed description of the building, launching, voyage and destruction of the R.M.S. Titanic. The book records many accounts of survivors both men and women. Individuals relate of the bravery portrayed by many, especially the men. The survivors told of clinging to any floating device that was available. One man relates his experience of going down into the water with the Titanic. He only survived because as the Titanic sank, it had three explosions. These explosions shot him back up to the surface. The relief of the survivors is also related when they at last saw and boarded the Carpathia, the only ship to pick up survivors. The joyous of reunions with family and friends are recounted. Also, touched upon are other great disaster’s at sea, that had occurred prior to the Titanic’s sailing.
My favorite part of the book was the account of the band playing their instruments to the end. The ship went down to the strains of “Autumn” or “Nearer my God to Thee”. The two hymns are similar it seems and it was not determined which was played. I was very much impressed by the account of a young lady of 25, a Miss Elizabeth Evans, who allowed another woman take to her place in a lifeboat because “Your need is greater than mine... You have children who need you and I have none.“ The girl died on the ship. I wondered if I would have the courage and trust in God to do the same. I also enjoyed the rather sad modern poem in the back of the book written by Mr. Douglas Phillips entitled “Women and Children First: In Memoriam to the Gallant Men of the Titanic”.
I would very highly recommend this book.
Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter
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Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - A Review
Posted on Feb. 19, 2007 at 5:43 PM
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I recently read Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen for a study of England we are doing as part of our homeschool.
Jane Austen lived in England from December 16, 1775 to July 18, 1817. She never married and lived with her family until her early death. She was the seventh of eight children. She had one older sister, Cassandra and six brothers. Her father was the rector of the parish in Steventon for about 40 years. She wrote several other works including, Pride and Prejudice and Emma. All of her works, published in her lifetime, were done so anonymously. The author of the books was known as “a Lady”. Sense and Sensibility was Miss Austen’s first published book.
Miss Austen first started writing Sense and Sensibility around 1795 when she was around 20 years of age. It was then called “Elinor and Marianne”. It was later revised and published in the year 1811 as Sense and Sensibility. The original book, and some copies today, were written in three volumes bound into one book. The first volume contained 22 chapters while the last two volumes each contained 24. Most publications of this book now are printed as one volume with 70 chapters. The Sense and Sensibility I read was an Oxford Illustrated. It was published as close as possible to the original publication in 1811. It even has the old fashioned spelling in it! :) In place of the word “stopped”, the word “stopt” was used.
Sense and Sensibility is about the Dashwood family: Elinor, Marianne, Margaret and their mother. Mr. Dashwood has just recently died. Although he was wealthy he was forced to leave his entire fortune to the girls’ half brother John, leaving them very poor. The family moves to a cottage on the property of Sir John Middleton, a cousin of Mrs. Dashwood. A majority of the book focuses on the two oldest sisters Elinor and Marianne. Elinor is the eldest and is 19 years of age in the beginning of the book. Marianne is nearly 17. The book shows the reactions the two sisters when they each find a man they love and then lose him. Elinor hides her feelings, thereby saving herself and those around her from unhappiness, while Marianne openly shows her feelings, even when it makes everyone including herself miserable. The ending is a very happy one.
One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was the variety of personalities portrayed in it. Miss Austen did very well in developing her characters in my opinion. My favorite part of the book is the very end. :)
I would highly recommend this book.
Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter
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The Bible and Pharaoh's
Posted on Feb. 2, 2007 at 8:39 PM
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This is a review of the book “Unwrapping the Pharaoh’s How Egyptian Archaeology Confirms the Biblical Timeline”. I bought this book with some Christmas money I was given by my grandparents.
This book was just published last year. It was written by Dr. John Ashton and Dr. David Down. I do not know much about Dr. Ashton, but I know a little about Dr. Down. He is an archaeologist who has excavated in Egypt, Israel and the Middle East. He is a biblical, young earth creationist. Here is a link to an interview Timing is Everything published in the Answer’s in Genesis Australian magazine Creation, (the US magazine is Answers). This article is an interview that discusses Dr. Down’s testimony. It also partially covers some of the topics discussed in the book.
The authors purpose is to show how easily you can harmonize Egyptian chronology and archaeology with the Bible.
Unwrapping the Pharaoh's contains many interesting facts about the history of Ancient Egypt. Archaological finds and places are compared with the Bible's historical account. This book explains that the traditional chronology given to Ancient Egypt needs to be dramatically shortened.
It identifies people in Ancient Egypt with people in the Bible, showing discoveries found that seem to support their theories. For example: It is possible that a famous pharaoh by the name of Khufu was the same Pharaoh that was reining during Abraham’s visit to Egypt. He would also have been the Pharaoh that took Sarah into his house and suffered from plagues because of her (Genesis 12). Also, a woman who assumed the responsibilities of Pharaoh named Hatshepsut could have been also the Queen of Sheba who visited King Solomon in the book of First Kings.
This book contains many beautiful photographs. Statues, tombs, pyramids, mummies, treasures, paintings, hieroglyphs, jewelery, landscapes and more are present on nearly every page.
An added bonus is a DVD that accompanies this book. I have been unable to watch this as we intend to view it as a family. I will write a review after I am able to see it.
One important aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was that the authors communicate with the belief that the Bible is the infallible word of God, while the theories and tales of man are fallible.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the study of Egypt from a biblical point of view.
Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter
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