Book Description
A Renaissance Fair is coming to the relatively quiet college town of Farberville, Arkansas. Though resistant to getting involved, Claire Malloy, local bookseller and mother of the perpetually petulant teenager Caron (she who speaks in ALL CAPS), finds herself drawn into the strange inner workings of the group putting on the fair. But suddenly, a dark mood falls over the festivities when one of the organizers is a victim of arson, and her body is found in the burned wreckage of her rented house. The circumstances of the crime take an unusual turn when it seems that no one can identify the body, since mysteriously no one has seen the woman in the flesh. Someone is definitely deadbut is it murder? And how does it all relate to the very singular members of the local chapter of The Association for Renaissance Scholarship and Enlightenment (ARSE)?
Customer Reviews:
Too clever by half.......2007-09-13
I enjoyed Joan Hess's Maggody series, but I find Claire Malloy (the main character in this book) to be sarcastic, sardonic, supercilious, and, well, just plain snotty. She is not a character I enjoy spending my spare time with.
A disappointing read .......2007-06-11
I really had to work to stay with this to the end, and wasn't worth my time. The renaissance stuff was tedious, a really disappointing read.
Entertaining amusing mystery series set in college town .......2007-05-14
This lastest clever mystery by Joan Hess moves you from your armchair to a college town coping with a medieval fair with a cast of characters funny but believable.
don't like renaissance fairs.......2007-05-09
I disliked this book. I don't like Renaissance fairs as it is, and I far prefer Hess's Maggody books to the Claire Molloy stories. This book had conversations that went on way too long with the "thee" and "thou" Renaissance speech that I find tedious. She also tossed in some quotes that seemed unnecessary and self-serving. Sure showed me that I know nothing of literature. I think I've bought all of Hess's books. From the beginning I observed that Hess's phrasing is so trite, it's almost high school quality. (No offense to articulate high schoolers.)
I do enjoy the interaction between mother and daughter, which is probably why I still buy her Molloy stories.
A laugh a minute in a Renaissance murder setting.......2007-05-01
The Renaissance Fair in my state is among the oldest continuously operating Renaissance Fairs in the United States, and will celebrate its 37th anniversary this year. I have attended the fair numerous times, and know people who participated.
I have often wondered what transpires behind the scenes at the fair--and Damsels in Distress answers this question. Murder most foul. An excellent who-done-it with motives scattered among the Renaissance Fair participants. The story hosts a royal court rift with jealousy, infidelities, and greed. Farberville, Arkansas is a small, quaint college town about to host its first Renaissance Fair. Through it all, our heroine, Clarissa Malloy, must walk a tightrope between bookseller, mother of a teenager, amateur sleuth, and fiancee of Police Lieutenant Peter Rosen.
Clarissa is drawn into the inner circle of the royal court much against her will. She's privy to a secret that could shatter her daughter and her upcoming marriage. Then, when one of the participants dies in a suspicious house fire, Clarissa finds herself sniffing out the clues. She is also torn between being glad Peter is away, because what he doesn't know about her involvement in the crime won't hurt her or him--and being upset that Peter's mother is trying to set him up again with his first wife who is rich, powerful, and beautiful.
This is the 16th Claire Malloy Mystery, but there is no need to know Claire's previous history in order to enjoy Damsels in Distress, but it might very well encourage you to give the other books in the series a read.
Armchair Interviews says: Humor abounds at the Renaissance Fair.
Customer Reviews:
A good addition to your library.......2007-09-06
Mrs. Peace is one author whose books I will get on her name alone; I know they are always sure to be full not just of biblical truth, but of the Bible itself. In fact, it is a rare page that does not at least allude clearly to a passage of Scripture, if it doesn't quote one outright. This particular offering is a treatment of "biblical solutions for problems women face," including gossip, hurt feelings, vanity, legalism, feminism, and trials. She handles each topic beautifully, with all the compassion and boldness she has become known for.
My favorite statement from the book is from the chapter on the feminist influence (called, appropriately, "But What If I *Like* To Have My Ears Tickled?").
"The only way we will not be taken captive by the feminist beliefs is through the power of the Holy Spirit and God's grace enabling us to study and believe and embrace what God has told us in His Word. What God has told us in His Word is that women are not victims. We are creatures created in God's image for the purpose of proclaiming His excellencies (1 Peter 2:9). God, not man, determined how best and in what role women were to give Him glory. It is a joy and privilege to serve God, but we can do it rightly only on His terms." (p. 143)
Mrs. Peace has embraced her God-given role as Biblical counselor and teacher of women, and shows each one of us that God has answers for the problems we all face. She reminds us that we will only experience the freedom God wishes to be ours when we face those problems on God's terms, repent, and follow through with obedience.
Strengths and weaknesses.......2007-06-28
Once again, Peace writes a book of advice for Christian women in how to solve their problems. Some of her points are very helpful and good, while others smack of the old-fashioned desire to place the female role underneath the male role. Women who express beliefs like this never cease to disappoint me, whatever else they may say of our sex.
My favorite point of this book was a very important truth that Peace expressed while addressing the harm she believed the feminist movement to do. She explained that feminists didn't want women to be defined by their husbands or their households and sought to define themselves by jobs and worldly tasks instead. Peace set both housewives AND feminists straight when she said that a child of God is not defined by anything earthly, but by their relationship with Christ! These powerful words should be a gem to all Christians, especially those who even for a moment forget their worth and try to define themselves by things that dim in comparison to our Lord.
As a feminist, I don't usually like hearing the movement bashed, especially by complimentarians who act like it's an evil tool. However, Peace did not come across as bashing and I agreed with her points about how precious the home is. There is nothing more precious than sharing life with a spouse and raising children, God's own image. This is something many a modern woman forgets.
Inspite of the gems of truth in this book, my enthusiasm ebbed a good deal when Peace reverted to the typical trademarks of complimentarianism. It's been a long observation of mine that those who believe in heavy submission to the husband usually believe in submission to males in general, to the point where the importance of female leaders and true appreciation of a woman's strength is pushed to the back-burner. Sadly, Peace is one of those women. In her chapter of women's roles in the church, she speaks more of what she believes a woman's role in general to be than a woman's role in the church alone. The female role according to Peace? Follower; secondary. All the typical lines were there: man is the leader, woman is the follower and helper (Peace's exact words), equality in value but not in roles, etc etc.
Frankly, I'm used to being told that women are followers in home and in church, but when people like Peace try to take their old-fashioned views of home and church and force them on women as a whole, I lose patience very quickly. It never ceases to amaze me how long-time Christians and Biblical scholars like Peace manage to painfully overlook the VARIOUS Biblical women who led, taught, and instructed people of all sorts, including men! Of course, Peace attempted to use Biblical passages to back herself up; she even hedged around God's clear design of equality in Genesis by claiming that, when God said man and woman would rule over everything on earth, He only meant this in a general way and was not referring to individual gender roles. Martha honey, if God says women lead in general, He means women lead in general! Judges, queens, battles, these are all things that both Biblical women and modern women have done with God-given success! I'm not sure why exactly Peace put quotation marks around the words "God made the man to lead and the woman to help and follow" because these were definetly her words, not God's. At this point, the book seemed to dissolve into yet another tool to humble women more than necessary. Peace had ended the previous chapter with the words, "In the following chapter, we shall see that the demand for equality does not stop when we step inside the church doors." Well of course it doesn't, Peace. Males and females are to be equal everywhere! This "demand" is not a sinful thing. Men are not the central sex in this world, Peace; God made both sexes to lead, instruct, initiate in His name.
I also found her explanation of "unintentional hurts" to be partly incorrect and rather rude. She claims that if a person is unintentionally hurt by another person, the sinfulness is on the part of the person who was hurt! She describes this person as usually "overly sensitive or prideful" and claims that this is the reason they were hurt! Or, maybe it was just a misunderstanding, Peace. Did that ever occur to you? Why blame the hurt party, automaticaly assuming they willfully misunderstood? I've been on both sides of the fence and I know it's not just a matter of pride. This sort of "according to Martha Peace" thinking is what annoys me so much about Peace and her ilk. She's not a psychiatrist and her book is not God's Word, but her interpretation of it. Perhaps authors like Peace, in their endeavors to make women humble, should humbly try to keep this in mind.
If you're a fan of Martha Peace, you'll probably already know what to expect and it could make a good tool for you. As a matter of fact, since it was mainly the one chapter that offended me, this book may be a help to women of more than one mindset. There are definetly some pearls of wisdom in the book, just don't let it alone define you as a woman.
A "Must" for Women in Leadership.......2007-02-22
Not only did I find this book encouraging and challenging on a personal level, but it is also an essential tool for helping other women find Biblical solutions to everyday problems.
Victory over our problems!.......2006-11-17
Last week I finished reading Martha Peace's new book Damsels in Distress: Biblical Solutions for Problems Women Face. Most people are familiar with Martha Peace's The Excellent Wife and this book is just as poignant and biblically sound. Peace writes with spiritual depth and encouraging clarity as she addresses problems that women have with others, self and the world.In eleven chapters Martha covers gossip and slander, idolatrous emotional attachments, manipulation, hurt feelings, vanity, PMS, legalism, the feminist influence, the role of women in the church and trials. Seeing that list, I knew this book would be convicting! And it is, but she does not condemn and leave us feeling guilty. Martha's heart for helping women comes across very genuinely in her writing and her purpose it truly to exhort her readers to help them change.
In the first chapter Martha writes-
"There is nothing, however painful, that we must go through in vain. God will not only help us, but He will also use all things for our good and for His glory. What a comforting thought when we are in a trial or undergoing terrific pressure or temptation!"
She urges the reader to keep this perspective in all our struggles. This encouragement is especially timely as she continues to write very black and white about our struggles and how no excuses will do. If we have a 1 Peter approach to our weaknesses The Lord can accomplish His change in us.
There were a couple of sections that I thought about quite a bit. The first was from chapter 4-Manipulation: I'm supposed to respond how? Martha writes-
"Sinful manipulation is using unbiblical words and/or your countenance to bully another person into letting you have your way. All the while you know that if you cannot have your way, you can at least punish the other person in the process.
You know you are guilty of sinful manipulation when you don't graciously take "no" for an answer and keep trying to convince the other person to let you have your way. Certainly there may be times when an appeal is appropriate, but if the answer is sill "no," then you must see it as God's will for you at the moment."
She breaks manipulation down into a chart of tactics that women try with their husbands, parents, friends and children. She sees that most verbal manipulation falls into one of these categories: sweet talk, begging, crying, anger, the cold shoulder, accusations, and threats. She calls us to put off manipulations and let all we say and do be done in love.
The second one is from chapter 5, Hurt Feelings: What difference does it make what he intended? Martha tries to be clear on the differences between intentional and unintentional hurts. I am amazed at the authoritative clarity with which she describes these two problems.
She writes about intentional hurts-
"Intentional hurts are sinful. They may be in the form of slander, name-calling, malicious comments and acts, or cruel threats. Whatever the form, you can overcome them only be responding righteously, not by adding additional wickedness."
I was a little surprised at the bluntness of what she says about unintentional hurts-
"Unintentional hurts are sinful on the part of the person perceiving something as hurtful. Often the person perceiving something as hurtful is overly sensitive, shy, proud, and self-absorbed. Whatever form their sin tends to take, they are to have a righteous, humble response to others.
Instead of being offended and hurt, we must learn to give others the benefit of the doubt...We must be willing to feel uncomfortable in order to help others feel comfortable. It is never pleasant to feel uncomfortable, but it is a mark of maturity when your concern is greater for another person's feelings than your own."
This is just a sample of this book, and I hope that you will take time to read the rest for yourself. Martha Peace cuts through the self-esteem, entitlement, feministic message that many authors use in an attempt to help women in their problems and she speaks authoritatively from God's Word helping women see how He cares for us deeply and tenderly-even when we think others don't understand our struggles-and also that He is holy and requires our obedience in all areas of life. Only in Him can we be free from sin and victorious over these problems.
This is not for you..........2006-10-28
if you are a woman with no problems, or if you know no women with problems. Otherwise, it is a MUST READ-excellent, Bible-based and WELL WORTH the read! I ordered it from the library but need to buy it so I can have it as a reference and to share :)
Book Description
Overlook is proud to present four more antic selections from comic genius, P.G. Wodehouse. A Damsel in Distress is an early novel about the aristocratic Marshmoreton family-a precursor to the Blandings series. Leave It to Psmith is a comedy adventure involving crime and gunplay, and Mulliner Nights is a series of stories about the inimitable Mr. Mulliner. Meanwhile, Lord 'Chuffy' Chuffnell borrows the services of Jeeves in Thank You, Jeeves.
Download Description
P.G. Wodehouse is at his whimsical best when the characters of Belpher Castle muddle through impending catastrophes and frivolous intrigue to figure out who belongs to whom in this comedy of errors. We begin with the American George Bevan who composes musicals and is in England to attend a performance of one. After the show, Lady Patricia Maud Marsh slips into his taxi in an attempt to escape her brother, Percy, who has fashioned himself protector of the family name, and her father, Lord John Marshmoreton, whose sister, Lady Carolyn Byrd, is trying to marry Maud off to her step-son, Reginald. George suddenly witnesses the members of Belpher Castle as overbearing relatives, loutish familiars, and literary snobs in Lord Marshmoreton's idyllic home. Maud has mistaken George for another man she fell in love with earlier because of the American accent. Wodehouse's plot twists and vaunty satire portray scheming servants who make bets on the capricious attachments of the Castle's inhabitants and the aunt-dominated Earl who loves to garden and is half-heartedly writing the family history. These marvelously comic eccentrics spend their aristocratic leisure aghast and preoccupied.
Customer Reviews:
Charming and entertaining!!.......2006-06-14
Wodehouse is one of my favorite writers whenever I want to laugh with very witty conversations and funny situations. I like the most the way he portrays the characters and overall I know that at the end I will have a very satisfying conclusion. This book is not an exception, I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
As an extra comment I would like to add that being a Georgette Heyer fan myself, I found that his writing resembles that of Georgette Heyer in the way the characters speak. It is a treat!
Classic Early Wodehouse.......2004-07-17
"A Damsel in Distress" was published in the U.S. on October 4, 1919 by George H. Doran, and then in the U.K. on October 17, 1919 by Herbert Jenkins, and it is a splendid example of early Wodehouse. This edition is part of The Collector's Wodehouse series being released by The Overlook Press (in the U.K. it is The Everyman's Wodehouse series from Everyman's Library).
As with many Wodehouse classics, this one includes a collection of colorful characters, a complex love story involving many characters, and of course the happy ending where everything works out. It is the story of an American Composer, George Bevan, who falls in love with Maud (The Earl of Marshmoreton's daughter). Maud is already in love with another American, Geoffrey Raymond, who she met in Wales the previous year. Her brother and aunt, Lord Belpher and Lady Caroline Byng oppose her getting involved with the American and want her to marry someone from her social class. There are more characters as well, including some servants, Lady Caroline's son Reggie, Lord Marshmoreton's secretary Alice Faraday, and an acquaintance of George's Billie Dore who is in the Chorus of George's latest musical comedy.
As with most Wodehouse stories, the plot is very complicated, and attempts to describe it in detail would fail to do it justice. It does involve a case of mistaken identity, a pool among the servants on who will marry Maud, and several characters finding their loves. Overall this is a very good example of a classic Wodehouse story, and it is well worth reading.
Screwball Comedy Wodehouse Style.......2003-08-15
Just today I was making a list of the best-written bits in Wodehouse, and Damsel in Distress topped the list. Gracie Allen of Burns and Allen fame starred in an old black-and-white film based from this book and cast in the Billy Wilder screwball comedy vein. Arguably this book may not top the PGW cannon--nearly everyone would have a Jeeves, Mulliner or Drones book at the pinnacle of great reading--but it does contain some of the most delightful passages in Wodehouse.
The movie falls far short of the book simply because it was made when "All Singing, All Dancing"--(and no plot) was considered a good review for a movie. Any number of PGW novels critique and lampoon his experiences in Hollywood, but seeing the film first and then reading the book, one might be pleasantly surprised. For me, this novel holds up as one of the best non-Jeeves stories, others being French Leave and The Girl On the Boat.
Plaisir d'amour.......2003-05-27
The course of true love never did run smooth with the "Damsel in Distress", naturally. Love may not care if time totters, light droops, and all measures bend. The problem, of course, in this boy loves girl and vice versa romance, the respective love-light is shining at the wrong object d'amour. This merry mix-up is further complicated by the differences in class ("blood").
In this delightful comic tale, Wodehouse reminds us once again the universal truth mused by e.e. cummings: love's function is to fabricate unknownness. That known is being wishless, but love, is all of wishing.
Wodehouse's "Damsel in Distress", like all his other works, is framed in the Edwardian Era. In contrast to the acme of vulgarity of this prosaic age, no one could write like he did, nor would want to. His large collection of works is held like an extinct specimen in the amber of the moment - capturing the bubbling gaiety and the insouciance of the Gilded Age.
Life does move on. Once a while though, it's pleasing and reassuring to hold and peer with appreciation inside the polished resin that was Wodehouse - knowing that the English language is still at its zenith, and few has mastered it.
Love feast.......2002-02-17
George Bevan, burgeoning young american musical composer, fancies himself a knight-in-shining-armor when in the middle of Piccadily Circus a fair maiden flings herself into his cab to escape the obese pursuit of the dragon - her brother Percy, heir to the family title and vigilant protector of the family name. Our hero's fair lady Maud does indeed live trapped within the tower of Castle Belpher to which he repairs in swift pursuit of happiness.
George will face grim prospects in scheming servants, an evil aunt, a kindly but aunt-dominated Lord Marshmoreton and worst of all the fact that Maud is in love with another. The whole setting has obvious similarities to Blandings for those familiar with the Lord Emsworth stories. I wasn't roaring with laughter, but I was attached to the characters and couldn't put the book down. It is hard to say which book is a good introduction to Wodehouse because they are all so good!
Customer Reviews:
Phil finally finds someone, who disappears...........2002-05-14
Daisy agrees to help introduce Philip Petrie's new love to his family. She is rich and American and he doesn't know how they will react. Daisy decides to kill two birds with one stone and invites Alec Fletcher to meet her mother. The week before the eventful weekend, Gloria is kidnapped. The villians will kill her if her father calls the police, so Petrie asks Daisy to help him find her.
This was an incredibly quick read (under three hours). I just couldn't put it down. It was nice to see all of the usual characters in a different setting. The author lets us get to know them a little better. Lucy is in every book, but very little time is given to her for example. I am looking forward to the next one.
A weak link in an otherwise stellar series........2002-03-08
Set in 1923 England, this series follows the adventures of the Honorable Daisy Dalrymple, a young woman who has defied convention by choosing to make her own living (as a journalist) rather than let her aristocratic family support her.
When Phillip Petrieýs American fiancé is kidnapped and held for ransom, Phillip turns to his good friend Daisy for help. Daisyýs penchant for crime-solving insures her willingness to help her old friend, but she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard place when Phillip asks her not to involve the police. Daisyýs romance with Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, a widower with a young daughter, certainly makes this dictate difficult to follow.
This is the fifth of the series (preceded by ýMurder on the Flying Scotsmaný and followed by ýDead in the Waterý), and although the characters and setting remain as charming as ever, there is not much mystery solving to be had. The perpetrator of the kidnapping is obvious very early on, but the plot revolves more around rescuing the fiancé than solving a crime. The story is best described as a ýcaper,ý with lots of following of suspects, traveling around the countryside, and a climactic shoot-out. Readers who like to decipher clues and try to solve the mystery themselves will be disappointed.
A well plotted who-done-it.......1997-10-14
In 1923 just outside London, Phillip Petrie, the son of an English Lord, stops his car on the side of the road to see what is causing a terrible knocking sound. Gloria Arbuckle, the daughter of an American industrial giant, stops to offer her assistance. The pair begins to see each other and Phillip quickly falls in love with Gloria. Phillip courts Gloria and her poppa as he plans to win them both over and marry her.
One day, while Phillip and Gloria were driving together, the car breaks down. Phillip tries to fix it, but they are set upon by some thugs. He is tied up and she is abducted. The kidnappers instruct poppa to raise a ransom without involving the police if he wants his beloved daughter back alive. Phillip turns to his childhood chum, Daisy Dalyrmple, to save the life of his beloved.
DAMSEL IN DISTRESS is a fun to read, who-done-it that ironically laughs at itself as well as high society. Daisy and the support cast (both the recurring and new characters) are all wonderful in a zany way, making this a series worth reading.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
These thirteen folktales have one thing in common: brainy, brawny, brave heroines--and not one damsel in distress! From Bradamante, the fierce female medieval knight, to Li Chi, the Chinese girl who slays a dreaded serpent and saves her town, these heroines use their cunning, wisdom, and strength to succeed.
Drawing from diverse cultures around the world, renowned author Jane Yolen celebrates the smart, strong, and sassy heroines of legend and lore in a collection that will encourage bravery in every girl.
Customer Reviews:
Should be rated PG-13.......2005-05-27
I loved the idea of this book, and I gave the book 1 star for the idea. I was anxious to purchase it for my daughters when I found it in the library. I am very glad we were able to borrow it and I didn't buy it. I feel portions of this book are inappropriate for children of any age. These stories could easily have been told without adding so much disturbing imagery to them. One example is in "Fitcher's Bird" where we find, "The tub was filled with the cut-up bodies of dead girls, who stared at her with sightless eyes." This is not an image I want in my own mind, much less that of my little girls. In "The Girl and the Puma," the author states, "Some turned to cannibalism, devouring the flesh of those people who had died before them." In "Burd Janet," a central theme is a person being "sacrificed to hell." In Mizilca, a young woman disguises herself as a man and at the end of the story, "she turned around and opened her shirt, so that there was left no doubt in the Sultan's mind that she was indeed a young woman...and beautiful." Not the type of behavior I want modeled for my daughters.
Another issue is specific to certain girls and is rather picky, but adoptive parents should be forewarned. Our younger daughter was abandoned at birth in China before we adopted her, and I came across many references that would only be harmful to her. I would give a very strong warning to parents of children with abandonment issues, as this is a central theme of several of these stories. We love the Chinese story, "Li Chi Slays the Serpent" and have read excellent retellings of it. However, in this version, the author writes (unnecessarily, in my opinion),'"Dear parents, since you have brought forth six daughters and no sons, it is as if you were childless. I am nothing. I am the sixth nothing in this family." (For in those days girls were considered of no value in a Chinese family.)' This would not be edifying to any abandoned Chinese girl. In "Atalanta the Huntress", `Iasus, a cruel, unfeeling man who took his newborn daughter into the Calydonian forest on the far borders of his kingdom. There he put her down on the forest floor saying, "I wished for a boy, and this is what I got. I will not have you."' In "Molly Whuppie," "There were a man and a wife who had...too many children, and they could not feed them all. So they took the three youngest and left them in the deepest part of a dark and tangled wood." (All three of whom happen to be girls.) I certainly can't read these stories to a child who repeatedly asks me, "You'll never leave me all alone, will you?"
Excellent collection.......2004-11-19
I have read a lot of folklore - my undergraduate degree was in folklore, basically. Her stories do diverge from the stereotypical male-hero stories.
In her other books, Jane Yolen has shown respect to males and given males the chance to be heroes, so the extreme feminism the previous reviewer claimed to have seen seems sought for. In the light of this collection, Jane Yolen obviously did an introduction discussing the fact that such heroines were not widely spread stories in our culture. Her saying this doesn't mean she's starting a feminist extreme group or expecting people (children!) to read these stories with feminist concerns.
These stories are geared towards the child who likes fantasy a bit - perhaps the regular Harry Potter fan. Children who found it boring will probably be more enthralled with a mystery or historical fiction story.
No soppy heroines here.......2004-08-19
This is an excellent collection of stories featuring clever, adventurous heroines. some of the stories were already familiar to me, like Burd Janet and Molly Whuppie, but others I'd never read before, like The Pirate Princess, and The Samurai Miaden. Unlike previous reviewers, I didn't find the stories either boring or too violent. the stories come from a wide variety of different cultures, but all feature enterprising, strong heroines. This book should appeal to any girl who would like to read about less passive heroines than Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc.
Way too violent.......2003-03-12
This book has a great title, but that's about it. My 10 year old daughter thought the stories were boring. We were very surprised by the amount of violence in these stories, and cannot recommend the book for that reason.
A bit too didactic.......2001-12-11
Although Jane Yolen is an excellent story-teller (her descriptive language and easy dialog make for a very fun read), I didn't enjoy this collection as much as I might have.
The book begins with an "open letter" to the author's daughter and granddaughters which contains quite a good summary of the various women warrior-types throughout history and throughout the world and hints at sources where you can find more information. However, she also makes several alarming statements that colored my reading experience.
First, she states that stories about heroic women have been "hidden... disguised... mutilated... truncated." Now, I'm not a scholar of folklore, or even an avid reader of it, but even I was familiar with many of the tales she included in her book. So I feel that Yolen may have been a bit over-dramatic on this point.
Another alarming statement is her explanation of why she only uses the term "hero" even though her protagonists are female--"Because heroines... sound like lesser or minor heroes, just as poetess and authress sound as if they are not as good as their male counterparts." This sentence caught me by surprise, since, as a woman, I would take no more offense at being described as an authress as I would at being described as a "chica" rather than a "chico" in a Spanish class. Using a specialized word such as "heroine" simply allows more clarity if it better suits the purpose of the author.
At any rate, I felt that this letter revealed the author to be super-sensitive to feminist issues and perceives her gender to be attacked at any hint of a difference between men and women. The letter was flavored with a bitterness that presented the book almost as a revenge against men rather than a valuable collection to be enjoyed.
That being said, I couldn't help but read Yolen's stories without a heightened sensitivity to issues of male vs. female. Here's what I found...
First out of the gate is "Atalanta the Huntress" which begins like this: "There was a king named Iasus, a cruel, unfeeling man who took his newborn daugter into the Calydonian forest on the far borders of his kingdom. There he put her down on the forest floor saying, 'I wished for a boy, and this is what I got. I will not have you.' Then he turned and left." Lovely. Here I'm thinking, "Gee. Jane Yolen really hates men." But there's more! Later in the story, Atalanta seeks help from the royal court. There all the "heroes" ignored her. One says, "Who is this mere girl who would hunt with heroes?" Even the prince, who agrees to take her along on the hunt, is only sizing her up as a potential wife.
The second story begins by describing a tall, strong man who also happened to be ugly. Very ugly. His daughter is also tall and strong, but she is also beautiful and smart. Hmmm..... Later when the daughter offers to help fight the evil hippo, the ugly man refuses, echoed by his hunter pal, "You are but a female... this is too dangerous a thing for a mere girl."
In the next story the man kidnaps young girls and cuts them into pieces. In the next story the man ties the woman to a tree, exposed to the elements and the wild animals because she disobeyed his orders. In the next story, the authorities (presumably men) ask the brave young girl who is volunteering to try to kill a giant serpant plaguing their village, "What can you, a mere girl, do that ten men could not?" And so on...
Sure, these same character types are in countless folktales and legends. But placed in the context of the author's introduction, they take on a whole new potency of evil. It's as if Yolen is trying to teach the reader by repitition that men are unfeeling, men are untrustworthy, men are dangerous...
The final nail in the coffin was Yolen's choice to include the ending part of the story, "Atalanta the Huntress." In it, Atalanta challenges each of her many suitors to a foot race. The first suitor to defeat her wins Atalanta's hand in marriage. We've all heard the story... the suitors never even have a chance, so strong and swift is Atalanta. But finally, one wily suitor tosses golden apples on the path before her and, as Yolen says, "Atalanta could not take her eyes off the golden fruit. She desired it above all things. Stooping down, she picked it up. And [the suitor] passed her by." As far as I'm concerned, this is a huge jab at women--a statement that women are fickle and unstable, ruled by their passions and incapable of overcoming obstacles. Why in the world would Yolen choose this story for a book she wrote to liberate the "disguised" and "mutilated" heroines--I mean, heroes--of world folklore?
The high point of the book is the section of notes at the end. Yolen explains where she found the stories and what parts she changed as she rewrote them. This, and the bibliography, allows for further research and perhaps a more objective look at the tales as they have been passed down through the ages.
In conclusion, I feel this potentially thrilling collection is extremely devalued by the author's political intent. If you are looking for a great collection of stories with strong female protagonists (but without the anti-male didacticism), I recommend "The Serpent Slayer and other stories of strong women" by Katrin Tchana. This volume celebrates the differences between the genders, which I feel is far more empowering and constructive than forcing women to live up to--or out-do--a standard set by the actions of men.
Customer Reviews:
Damsel In Distress.......2001-07-09
Once again Drake has managed, seemingly effortlessly, to combine historical fact, legend and romance together in a wonderful story. Revolving around the relationship between Katherine de Montrain, cousin to Robin Hood, and her guardian Damian Montjoy. This book also manages to discuss the crusades and there is a good deal about Robin Hood and his band, who are helped by the mysterious stranger 'the silver sword'. All in all a good read, although maybe not up to the standard of some of her other books eg PRINCESS OF FIRE.
Book Description
Continuing his close scrutiny of the fine line separating the theatrical from the real, Alan Ayckbourn serves up three new plays, collectively known as Damsels in Distress. Written to be performed by the same cast with the same luxurious riverside apartment as a set, each play deftly explores the enigmatic duality of role-playing--including a daughter trying out the call-girl lifestyle to help with the family budget, and a night of romance between neighbors who aren't who they say they are--while continuing to offer Ayckbourn's signature dose of penetrating humor.
Product Description
Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
Books:
- Dry Bones Rattling: Community Building to Revitalize American Democracy (Princeton Studies in American Politics)
- Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust
- Every Heart Restored: A Wife's Guide to Healing in the Wake of a Husband's Sexual Sin (The Every Man Series)
- Faking It: How to Seem Like a Better Person Without Actually Improving Yourself
- Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, Book 4)
- Front-End Analysis and Return on Investment Toolkit (Learning and Performance Toolkit Series)
- Getting Our Groove Back: How to Energize American Jewry
- Ghettonation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and Home of the Shameless
- Giraffes Can't Dance
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
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The Accidental Florist (Jane Jeffry Mystery Series, No. 16)
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