In which Carla explores a favorite horror author of Victorian England, and finds an marvelous polymath, an LGBTQ icon, and a woman who rescued ancient Egypt and explored terra incognita.

 

Show Notes:

Story read: “The Phantom Coach”, Amelia B. Edwards

Recommended Reading:

• The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Amelia B. Edwards 
• Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody no. 1) by Elizabeth Peters

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/62851.Amelia_B_Edwards

 

Referenced episodes:

• 32: What the Dickens
• 47: Victorian Christmas: The Goblin and the Paw

 

Sources:

Egypt Exploration Fund: https://www.ees.ac.uk

Historic England: Amelia’s gravesite

University of Pennsylvania: 1 and 2

Brown University

historyswomen.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There Might Be Cupcakes Episode 58: Terra Incognita | Amelia B. Edwards, Victorian horror author, polymath, genius, explorer of the world, and self-taught Egyptologist. She not only wrote horrifying stories, she rescued ancient Egypt’s treasures from ruin and desecration. And she is an

I read and reviewed Lily Anderson’s first book The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You (you can check my review here) last year. I loved it and I mentioned that I would be watching out for more of the author’s books. When a publicist from St. Martin’s Press got in touch with me offering me to take part in the blog tour for the author’s next book, I had to check it out. When I read that this time the author’s inspiration was Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest I knew I’d fight tooth-and-nail to take part if necessary. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that, but it would have been worth it.

Elliot/Ever (if you know Wilde’s play, you’ll know that there are several people using false identities for a variety of reasons, mostly to live a different kind of life away from prying eyes) is a seventeen year old African-American girl, who lives in California, with a somewhat complicated family background (the Lawrence, on her mother’s side, have a long tradition of joining the Air Force, and her mother, in fact, teaches at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, while she lives with her father, a lawyer of French descent. Her step-Mom, Beth, is an estate agent, white, and an amateur actress, and she has a half-brother, Ethan). Her mother and all of her mother’s family expect her to join the Air Force, while her father wants her to do anything but that (mostly go to College somewhere nearby). And Elliot… Well, she wants to study Science-Fiction Literature. She is a geek. Her step-mother is about to play Gwendoline for the sixth time in an amateur production of The Importance of Being Earnest (that Elliot knows by heart from so many performances and rehearsals) and she decides to take control of her life and avoid another farcical summer. She lies to everybody around her, creates a fake identity (inspired by Wilde’s play), and after passing a genius exam to enter a summer programme (to win a fantastic scholarship to the college of her dreams, mostly because they have an amazing sci-fi collection in the library and they offer a degree in Science-Fiction Literature) she sets off to Oregon, determined to win no matter what.

Elliot/Ever soon discovers that you cannot outrun Wilde and that there’s nothing more farcical than a camp for geniuses. She has a few surprises (she’s not the only one to use a fake identity or lie), meets wonderful people (and some not quite so wonderful), finds love, and discovers what’s really important.

Like in Anderson’s previous novel, we have a first-person narration, this time by Elliot, who is a clever, witty, and determined girl. In this case she was not aware she was a genius (another member of the family was always considered the clever one), but the summer camp is not that dissimilar to the high school in the previous novel, although in this case everybody, apart from the college students who facilitate the camp, are new to the place, they don’t know each other and are thrown together in pretty stressful circumstances. We have, again, many pop culture and bigger Culture references (some, I must admit went over my head, but I didn’t mind that), a diverse group of students, but all clever, studious, dedicated, nerdy, and quirky. I loved Leigh, Elliot’s roommate, Brandon (a guy who carries a typewriter around. Come on, I’m a writer too. Who would not love him), and most of the characters. The dialogue sparkles and the quotes from Wilde’s play, that keep popping up into Elliot’s head, are sometimes humorous (I particularly like the ‘A tree!’ ‘A handbag!’ comparison) but sometimes the author chooses quotes that reflect the serious matters at hand. Although at first, it seems the furthest possible setting for such a play, the summer camp works well, as we have many restrictions, a lockdown, rules that can be broken and people hiding secrets, overhearing things they shouldn’t, and getting into all kinds of problems.

There is cheating, friendships, betrayals, bizarre but vividly portrayed contests (Star Wars based fights to the death, The Breakfast Club themed memory tests…) and young romance.

I don’t know if it was because of the build-up and the identity changes but it took me a bit longer to get into the story than it did the previous novel, but once at the camp and when I got used to Elliot/Ever’s voice and her accurate descriptions of people and things, I felt as if I was there and could not put the book down.

The ending… Well, you’ll have to read it. It’s probably not what you expect but it’s good.

Once again I’ve highlighted many bits. A few random ones:

And he was wearing loafers. I couldn’t get my swoon on for a guy who didn’t wear socks.

Two narrow pressboard wardrobes that were less Narnia, more IKEA.

She sounded as though she really meant it, but that could have been because everything she said sounded vaguely like it was licensed by Disney.

He was cute and presumably very smart and, unlike so many other white dudes, he’d never told me how much hip-hop meant to him like my melanin made me a rap ambassador.

Another great YA novel that I’d recommend to people who enjoy sci-fi and pop culture references, people who love books and libraries, and who appreciate young female characters that have interests beyond school balls and boyfriends. And of course, if you love witty dialogue, farcical plots, and are a fan of Oscar Wilde, you are in for a treat. I’ll for sure be waiting for Anderson’s next novel.

Thanks to Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press) and to NetGalley for providing me an ARC copy of the novel that I freely chose to review.

When I began my commitment to give honest, no conflict of interest reviews for the work of new, self-published authors I wasn’t expecting much. I’m a tough reviewer and I wasn’t prepared to lower my standards and though I try to temper my criticism with suggestions on how the work might be improved, I sometimes find that’s a challenge.

 

Considering that I’m reviewing my peers, most who have had as much or more success than myself, you might ask what good are my suggestions? Probably not very good, but I’ve found well considered negative reviews had more to offer, more to learn from, than the “loved it, couldn’t put it down” non-specific five star rating (yes, I’ve actually had a few of those).

 

What I wasn’t prepared for were some of the best books I’ve ever read.

 

Two books so far have been astounding - the voice, the diction, the wit, the wisdom, the originality, the conception of plot, the being swept away by the prose. I was enthralled.

The books are War in a Beautiful Country by Patricia Ryan and Not Lost For Lookin’ by Lexi Boeger. They were both offered free on Smashwords and as far as I can tell have had very limited success.

 

I’ve always maintained “if it don’t sell, it ain’t good”. I mean, how else can you gauge success or even improvement without becoming totally delusional. By delusional I mean thinking you’re an undiscovered literary genius when you’re actually a shitty writer. Sales, or the lack of them, is my benchmark.

 

But apparently, there really are some undiscovered literary geniuses out there, sales or no sales.

 

War in a Beautiful Country and Not Lost For Lookin’ aren’t perfect. They both could use the services of a dispassionate and objective editor, but who couldn’t, and they both have issues with formatting, but they are so much better than most of the traditionally published, critically acclaimed literary novels I’ve read lately that it gave me pause.

 

Everything being equal (and it never is), and these author’s are actually attempting to get their books published traditionally, why is crap being accepted when brilliance isn’t, my books aside?

 

Here’s what I think.

 

Agents and publishers don’t take risks. Despite what they tell you on their website they really aren’t looking for new talent, they’re looking for a paycheck, something they can take to the bank.

 

Critical acclaim is a commodity that can be purchased or bartered for.

 

Book endorsements on the covers of bestsellers are likely swaps arranged by the publisher – if you plug his book he’ll plug yours, and the majority of reviews are paid for (oh, yes they are) and only the positive ones used. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that if it’s paid for it’s usually positive.

 

Perhaps the only bastion of integrity for book reviews are newspapers and newsmagazines where there doesn’t appear to be any advantage in lying, unless you’d impugn your integrity for a free book. Just a second, I know journalists that would impugn their integrity for a free meal. Hmm.

 

Unfortunately, as a journalist I’m familiar with the media’s pack mentality – they all cover the same stories, the same topics and, in the case of books, they all review the same books, usually hot titles already on the bestseller’s list that don't need another review.

 

So what’s a writer suppose to do if you don’t have hundreds of dollars to pay out for reviews and don’t know any famous writers who will endorse your work? How do you get reviewed and make that essential connection with readers?

 

Write, pray, hope?

 

For me, I take solace in the words of Nietzsche,

“Art is the proper task in life.”

 

He also said,

“The doer alone learneth.”

 

I am doer so I guess I’m still learnething.

 

Stay Calm, Be Brave and Watch for the Signs

 

30

 

 

My new novels, FOREST – Love, Loss, Legend and The BIG PICTURE – A Camera, A Young Woman, An Uncompromising Ethic are available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU and as e-books at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/raglin

 

Read Reviews https://readersfavorite.com:book-review:39014

 

Visit my publisher’s website for excerpts from, and buy links to my Eco-Fi series ECO-WARRIORS, that includes Spirit Bear, Eagleridge Bluffs, and Not Wonder More – Mad Maggie and the Mystery of the Ancients http://www.devinedestinies.com/?route=product%2Fauthor&author_id=92

 

More of my original photographs can be viewed, purchased, and shipped to you as GREETING CARDS; matted, laminated, mounted, framed, or canvas PRINTS; and POSTERS. Go to: http://www.redbubble.com/people/rodraglin

 

View my flickr photostream at https://www.flickr.com/photos/78791029@N04/

 

Or, My YouTube channel if you prefer photo videos accompanied by classical music

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsQVBxJZ7eXkvZmxCm2wRYA

 

 

Folks, this review will be a little different. I gave this book a try, even made it to the third disc, and couldn’t get into it. A lot of the historical references and technical talk were unfamiliar to me (I’m a biologist, not a computer scientist), so the significance of much of the book was lost on me. However, My Main Man (M3) is a computer scientist and was totally caught up in this book. He kindly wrote the following review for my blog.

M3 here with a review of The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution.

Walter Isaacson has put together a compelling story of the people responsible for creating computers and the internet. He starts early with Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage in the mid-1800s and takes the reader on a biographical tour that includes Alan Turing, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and, of course, Al Gore. But Isaacson explains throughout that it’s not only these visionaries and geniuses we should thank for the digital revolution. Rather it was collaboration and team work that allowed for the big leaps, or more often, grinding progress that brought forth the computer age. Isaacson also shows how important the different “ecosystems”, as he calls them, were for innovation. Places like Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, Stanford University, and Silicon Valley along with the venture capitalists that kept things moving when big companies weren’t willing to take risks on early technology, were key as well.

20 minutes in, I was hooked. I have a Computer Science degree and had heard of many of the players Isaacson covered during my studies, but his book really brought them to life. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who works in a computer related field or is a technology entrepreneur, or who simply wants to learn just how wacky Gates, Jobs, and the rest were before they got famous. While lots of concepts and tech were covered by Isaacson, I think it will be accessible for the non-Geek too.

Why I read this book: Road trip with Nrlymrtl and she threw the audio book in the CD player. Just about every time we travel she’ll play an audio book that I probably wouldn’t have chosen otherwise and this one turned out to be a winner, for me at least.

Narration: Dennis Boutsikaris narrates the majority of the book and keeps things interesting by doing great impersonations of the various hackers, geniuses and geeks when reading their quotes. Unlike most non-fiction audiobooks I’ve listened to, The Innovators was far from boring. Boutsikaris’s vocal skill and Isaacson’s pace made it more fun for me than a serial biography about computer nerds probably ought to have been.

What I Liked: Learning about the personalities involved – most of these innovators were very colorful characters and the author did a great job making them real to me.

What I Disliked: Since several different innovators and teams were working on the same thing but at different ecosystems, some of the latter chapters started to feel repetitive – though it was interesting to see how different factors allowed one person or team to get ahead.

Terry Gilliam's Zero Theorem opens today in the US.