The Woman in White is an exciting and complex story with a memorable cast of heroes, villains, and sundry other interesting characters. Wilkie Collins lived between 1824 and 1889 and his life overlapped those of other well-known Victorian authors whose books I’ve enjoyed reading: Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)Elizabeth Gaskell (1810 - 1865)Charlotte Bronte (1816 … Continue reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (1859)
Charlotte Mason Highschool
My Reading in 2022
I'm very annoyed with myself that I didn't keep track of everything I read last year. I was just slack. My reading was fairly wide, a bit more nonfiction than usual and also more lighter books than I normally read. I felt a little run down after some bouts of flu, throat & ear problems … Continue reading My Reading in 2022
Towers in the Mist by Elizabeth Goudge (1938)
Towers in the Mist is set in Oxford during the Reign of Elizabeth I. Elizabeth Goudge centres her story around the Leighs, a fictional family, but she includes a wealth of historical figures such as Walter Raleigh, Philip Sidney, Thomas Bodley, Cardinal Wolsey, and the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley. Canon Leigh is a widower … Continue reading Towers in the Mist by Elizabeth Goudge (1938)
Reading, Thinking, & Domesticity #7
I'm working on an applique quilt and have been chugging along quite nicely. I've almost finished a fourth block. The biggest hold up for me is choosing material. I have stacks left over from other projects but trying to choose complementary fabrics is so time consuming! I started a monthly sewing/craft day last month and … Continue reading Reading, Thinking, & Domesticity #7
AmblesideOnline Year 12 – an Update
This year has had the most tweaks of all the AmblesideOnline years we've done. That's partly due to the nature of the AO offerings which leaves much scope for picking and choosing and partly because I'm modifying the content for our Australian situation. I also dropped some of the Post-Modern & Worldview books that were … Continue reading AmblesideOnline Year 12 – an Update
Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear
This biography of Beatrix Potter by Linda Lear was published in 2007. It is a very comprehensive 584-page account of an extraordinary woman. Although Beatrix Potter is mostly known for her iconic Peter Rabbit and friends children’s books, these books only represent one aspect of her life over a ten-year period. Besides being a gifted … Continue reading Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear
Reading, Thinking, & Domesticity #6
It's been a while since I've written one of these posts. I always find it difficult to come up with a title unless I'm writing an obvious 'book review' as I like to go off on tangents. So 'Reading, Thinking, & Domesticity' it is as it is a bit of everything. I've been listening to … Continue reading Reading, Thinking, & Domesticity #6
A Charlotte Mason Education: the ‘extras’ that sometimes get left out in high school
The week before last I had a phone call from the Symphony Manager of the orchestra my daughter is a part of. Her son and two friends had entered an Eisteddfod competition and the cellist had just pulled out due to sickness. She asked if Miss 17 could play in his place - the only … Continue reading A Charlotte Mason Education: the ‘extras’ that sometimes get left out in high school
Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart (1958)
Linda Martin was back in Paris after an absence of nine years. With an English father and a French mother, she had grown up in France during the Second World War. When she was fourteen both of her parents were killed in a plane crash and she was sent to an orphanage in England where … Continue reading Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart (1958)
Ourselves by Charlotte Mason: Some Thoughts on the Will
I’m re-reading Charlotte Mason’s fourth volume, Ourselves, this time with my online book buddies. Ourselves is subtitled: Improving Character and Conscience, and is divided into Books 1 and 2. The first was designed for children around the age of twelve and the second for those of high school age, but, as many home educators have … Continue reading Ourselves by Charlotte Mason: Some Thoughts on the Will
journey & destination 