Book Club Girl - Book Group Recommendations, Reading Group Guides, Audio Book Club Podcasts

The Passing Bells Trilogy Read Along Beings with the Discussion of The Passing Bells!

Our Passing Bells Read Along discussions officially begin today! And it's about time as I'm fresh off tonight's Downton Abbey premiere and need something else to discuss until next Sunday night! It's been great to see some of your excitement on Twitter (#passingbells) already. I hope that everyone enjoyed reading the first book in the series as much as I did - now I just wish there was a theatrical adaptation of it in the works. For those arriving here for the first time who've yet to read The Passing Bells, let this officially stand as a spoiler alert - don't read beyond the italicized type if you don't want to learn essential plot points. Ok, let's begin!

The Passing Bells

The guns of August are rumbling throughout Europe in the summer of 1914, but war has not yet touched Abingdon Pryory. Here, at the grand home of the Greville family, the parties, dances, and romances play on. Alexandra Greville embarks on her debutante season while brother Charles remains hopelessly in love with the beautiful, untitled Lydia Foxe, knowing that his father, the Earl of Stanmore, will never approve of the match. Downstairs the new servant, Ivy, struggles to adjust to the routines of the well-oiled household staff, as the arrival of American cousin Martin Rilke, a Chicago newspaperman, causes a stir.

But, ultimately, the Great War will not be denied, as what begins for the high-bred Grevilles as a glorious adventure soon takes its toll—shattering the household's tranquillity, crumbling class barriers, and bringing its myriad horrors home.

Indeed, as Nancy Pearl posted on her Facebook page during the holidays: "Jonesing for Downton Abbey? Meet the Grevilles of Abingon Pryory in Philip Rock's Passing Bells, 1st of a trilogy. Check it out."

Questions for discussion -  post your answers in the comments section - if you're a blogger and you've posted a review, include that link with your answers.

1. I know that many of us have read the Maisie Dobbs and Bess Crawford series, which are also set during WWI. What I really liked about The Passing Bells was that we get more of what's going on in the war itself - I learned a lot that I didn't know about the politics and the battles and felt I got a fuller picture than before. If you've read either of those series, or just from watching Downton Abbey or reading other books set in this time period, how did The Passing Bells compare for you? (I loved seeing things I'd learned in other books - the white feathers from Birds of a Feather and the scene where war is declared echoed a similar scene in Betsy and the Great World).

2. I was struck again at how the war changes the social order in Britain - in that it allows people like Ivy Thaxton and her father, Jamie Ross and even Alexandra Greville to do things they would never have been allowed to do in the places they held prior to the war. Ivy is ushered into a world she would only have been able to look at from the outside and her father's business thrives; Ross is in a position to tell his former master's son what to do; and Alexandra finds a life that is certainly full of more purpose (if also more pain) than the one she's planning at the beginning of the novel. What did you think of all these role reversals and changes?

3. Martin Rilke's diary entries are embedded throughout the novel - much as he is embedded as our "American eye" into the story - first he's embedded into the British aristocracy, then the world of journalism and finally the the war itself. Why do you think Phillip Rock chose to include his diaries in this way?

4. The novel is full of literary allusions, to such an extent that the poet Rupert Brooke is included as a character himself. Why do you think Rock chose to include these allusions and Brooke?

5. What did you think of Lydia Foxe and Alexandra Greville at the beginning of the novel and how did your feelings toward them change by the end?

6. Which leads me to my next question - my feelings about many characters changed throughout the novel: Charles, Fenton, Jacob, Lydia, Alexandra. Where there any characters about whom you felt the same at the end as you did at the beginning?

7. In the biography in the PS section at the back of the book, Rock's inspiration for the book is discussed - from his youth spent in England up until the Blitz and standing still with his father on Armistice Day. The Passing Bells was published in 1978 while Rock was living in the States and the Vietnam War had just ended three years prior - probably during the time he was writing the book. Do you think that the effects of that war - and what we as a country learned about what happens to men in battle, could have influenced the novel, specifically how Charles and Jacob are affected and change?

8. When we read the Maisie Dobbs and Bess Crawford series together I asked if there was a new word or phrase that you learned in each book. There were many words that were new to me here. I knew that "Blighty" was a term for England, but not that it could also refer to a self-inflicted wound that would, in turn, send a soldier back to Blighty. What word or phrase was new to you?

I can't wait to read all of your answers, and please add any thoughts or observations I may not have covered here.

Join us for our discussion of the next book in the trilogy, Circles of Time, on Monday, February 4th. Also - the first 5 people to comment on this post will win a free copy of that book to read for the discussion!

 

Fans of Bess Crawford, Ian Rutledge and Downton Abbey! Charles Todd's New Holiday Book Revealed!

While those of us in the US mourn the ocean that separates us from this month's premiere of Season 3 of Downton Abbey over in the UK (we have to wait until January 5th here in the States), there is good news for fans of the era. The Charles Todd writing team, which has brought us the acclaimed and bestselling Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford series (the latter of which we enjoyed reading together here earlier this year), has written a holiday tale that goes on sale this fall and sounds just perfect for Downton fans. The Walnut Tree: A Holiday Tale (on sale 10/30) tells the "unforgettable story of a woman who puts herself in the line of fire for the sake of wounded soldiers and falls deeply in love with a man who may be forbidden to her." And while it is a standalone novel, fans of Bess will be glad to hear that Nurse Crawford does make an appearance!

Today the Todds share how they came to title this new novel, The Walnut Tree - read on and then be sure to visit their Facebook page to start reading an exclusive excerpt now!

WHAT’S IN A NAME—OR NAMING A NOVEL

Most of the time—at least for us—a novel’s name comes out of the story itself. After all, these are mysteries, suspense novels, and the title reflects what’s in the book.  THE CONFESSION, the 2012 Rutledge, actually starts out with a confession, although from the beginning it’s suspect.  The question then becomes why was it suspect, what did the man who walked into Rutledge’s office at the Yard have to gain from admitting to murder?  So, it’s the catalyst, if you want to think about it that way.  The 2012 Bess Crawford, AN UNMARKED GRAVE, begins with a death that there is no time to investigate—and the victim disappears into an unmarked grave, making it all the more difficult for Bess to prove what she’d seen in the shed filled with the dead from the trenches and the flu epidemic.  And so she is forced to put her own life at risk in order to find an elusive murderer with all the cards in his or her hands now.

When it came to THE WALNUT TREE, we had to give our editor a title before the manuscript was even written, because we were aiming for a holiday pub date and production had to begin straightaway. Very unusual circumstances to say the least! So what does an author do then?

We knew several things about the novella.  It wouldn’t be a Rutledge or a Bess Crawford.  It would be a bittersweet love story as well as a mystery. It would be set in France and England and Scotland. And finally, there was a tiny village we hoped would have a strong impact on the love story.  Hardly enough material to help us pick a book’s title.  We were in Kent at the time our editor’s request arrived, and we asked our English friends, Pauline and Brian, for suggestions. Nothing seemed to click.

Driving around England researching the next Bess and the next Rutledge, we noticed a very attractive house along the road. The sign on the gate posts was Walnut Tree Cottage.  And then in a small town we spotted The Walnut Tree Pub. Not too many days after that, we passed by The Walnut Tree Hotel.  When we went to have lunch with our other English friends, Sally and David, what was in their front garden?  A young walnut tree they took pride in.  Was all this trying to tell us something? Our friends thought it just might be, and so we ran THE WALNUT TREE by our editor in New York.  She liked the idea very much.  What’s more, when we came to write the novella, the inspiration of the title led not only to an exciting jacket but to a moment in the love story that was so tender and touching we knew we’d chosen well.

Sometimes happenstance works just fine.
Charles and Caroline Todd

Listen to Caroline and Charles Todd Discuss Bess Crawford Now!

If you missed tonight's live broadcast of our discussion with the Charles Todd writing team about their Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge series, you can listen in to the podcast now! Thanks so much to Caroline and Charles for joining us - it was great to hear about their inspiration and research into the WWI era as well as the mystery writers they love to read.

Listen to internet radio with Book Club Girl on Blog Talk Radio

Book Time with Bess - The Bess Crawford Read Along Discussion of An Unmarked Grave

I can't believe we've already come to the end - for now - of the Bess Crawford series! Today we discuss the 4th book in Charles Todd's bestselling series, but our read along is not over yet. After today's discussion here, we still have our live online radio podcast with the Charles Todd writing team this Thursday night, during which we will talk about the entire Bess Crawford series!

I think An Unmarked Grave might have been my favorite Bess mystery so far - it certainly kept me guessing until the end and I loved how much action there was. Bess was on the move the entire time.

An Unmarked Grave

World War I nurse and amateur sleuth Bess Crawford matches wits with a devious killer in this exciting and suspenseful adventure from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd

In the spring of 1918, the Spanish flu epidemic spreads, killing millions of soldiers and civilians across the globe. Overwhelmed by the constant flow of wounded soldiers coming from the French front, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford must now contend with hundreds of influenza patients as well.

However, war and disease are not the only killers to strike. Bess discovers, concealed among the dead waiting for burial, the body of an officer who has been murdered. Though she is devoted to all her patients, this soldier's death touches her deeply. Not only did the man serve in her father's former regiment, he was also a family friend.

Before she can report the terrible news, Bess falls ill, the latest victim of the flu. By the time she recovers, the murdered officer has been buried, and the only other person who saw the body has hanged himself. Or did he?

Working her father's connections in the military, Bess begins to piece together what little evidence she can find to unmask the elusive killer and see justice served. But she must be as vigilant as she is tenacious. With a determined killer on her heels, each move Bess makes could be her last.

1) In each of the previous books in the series, we saw Simon Brandon take on a increasingly bigger role in investigating crimes with Bess and in this book, the Colonel and Bess' mother are also actively involved in her search for the killer. What did you make of this?

2) Both Bess and Simon fall ill in this novel - Bess from the Spanish Flu epidemic ravaging both France and England and Simon from his wounds. What did you think of each of them in their more vulnerable states and why do you think the authors chose that for them?

3) There were several suspects put forth throughout the course of the novel. How did you feel when the killer, and his motives for killing, was finally revealed?

4) What did you think of Bess' decision to help Hugh Morton in his desertion?

5) I loved the scene of Bess working alongside the doctor to save Sargeant Mitchell, with her father looking on. As far as we know this is the first time he's seen his daughter in action as a nurse and what she can do. What did you think of that scene?

6) What new word did you learn from this mystery? For me it was "sappers" - which refers to either a military specialist in field fortification work or a military demolitions specialist.

More than anything, this novel drove home for me, even more than the previous three, the toll that the war is taking, as it drags on - on soldiers, nurses and the people of England and France. There was a haunting sense of the loss and devastation and the hopelessness that the end is not in sight. I found this audio recording of Roses of Picardy - the song that Bess hears a soldier playing on a mouth organ when she is working in Ypres: "I thought how homesick he must be, letting the instrument put into words what he couldn't, that the war had last far too long and there was still no end in sight. He had lost heart, and I couldn't fault him for that."

I look forward to seeing your answers to the above questions, and then, our Book Time with Bess Read Along isn't quite over yet! Please join us on Thursday night, June 28th at 7pm ET, as we welcome the writing team of Charles Todd to Book Club Girl on Air to answer all our questions about the entire Bess Crawford series - as well as anything else you'd like to ask them about their Inspector Ian Rutledge series and researching and writing the war in general. Set your reminder for the show here!

If You Missed Our Live Discussion with Zoe Fishman about Saving Ruth, Listen in Now!

If you missed our live Book Club Girl on Air Show with Zoe Fishman, on which she discussed her newest novel, Saving Ruth, listen in now to the show. Thanks so much to Zoe for joining us and to all of you who participated as well! Our next show is Thursday, June 28th with the Charles Todd writing team, who will join us to discuss their Bess Crawford series, including the newest, An Unmarked Grave. Set a reminder for that show, and see all the upcoming shows, here!

 

Listen to internet radio with Book Club Girl on Blog Talk Radio

Charles Todd Joins Book Club Girl on Air on Thursday, June 28th at 7pm ET!

The Book Time with Bess Read Along is rolling along - check out the discussion of A Bitter Truth from last Monday. Next up is the newest and fourth book in the series, An Unmarked Grave, which goes on sale on Tuesday, June 5th. We'll discuss An Unmarked Grave on here the blog on June 25th and we'll discuss it and the entire Bess Crawford series with the Charles Todd writing team live on Book Club Girl on Air on Thursday, June 28th at 7pm ET!

World War I nurse and amateur sleuth Bess Crawford matches wits with a devious killer in this exciting and suspenseful adventure from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd

In the spring of 1918, the Spanish flu epidemic spreads, killing millions of soldiers and civilians across the globe. Overwhelmed by the constant flow of wounded soldiers coming from the French front, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford must now contend with hundreds of influenza patients as well.

However, war and disease are not the only killers to strike. Bess discovers, concealed among the dead waiting for burial, the body of an officer who has been murdered. Though she is devoted to all her patients, this soldier's death touches her deeply. Not only did the man serve in her father's former regiment, he was also a family friend.

Before she can report the terrible news, Bess falls ill, the latest victim of the flu. By the time she recovers, the murdered officer has been buried, and the only other person who saw the body has hanged himself. Or did he?

Working her father's connections in the military, Bess begins to piece together what little evidence she can find to unmask the elusive killer and see justice served. But she must be as vigilant as she is tenacious. With a determined killer on her heels, each move Bess makes could be her last.

“Readers who can’t get enough of Jacqueline Winspear’s novels, or Hester Latterly, who saw action in the Crimean War in a series of novels by Anne Perry, are bound to be caught up in the adventures of Bess Crawford.”
—New York Times Book Review

Don't worry if you haven't read the first books in the series - you can jump in at any moment - so if you're looking for a cure to your WWI era Downton Abbey-less blues, sign up for this discussion!

Browse inside An Unmarked Grave now. I have 10 copies of the book to give away to the first 10 people who comment that they can participate in the show on June 28th. And set your reminder for the show here.

Book Time with Bess - The Bess Crawford Read Along Discussion of A Bitter Truth

Welcome to the third installment of the Bess Crawford Read Along of book 3 in the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd, A Bitter Truth!

A Bitter Truth

Trying to help a woman in distress, World War I nurse and accidental sleuth Bess Crawford learns that no good deed goes unpunished

When battlefield nurse Bess Crawford returns from France for a well-earned Christmas leave, she finds a bruised and shivering woman huddled in the doorway of her London residence. The woman has nowhere to turn, and propelled by a firm sense of duty, Bess takes her in.

Once inside Bess’s flat, the woman reveals that a quarrel with her husband erupted into violence, yet she wants to return home—if Bess will go with her to Sussex. Realizing that the woman is suffering from a concussion, Bess gives up a few precious days of leave to travel with her. But she soon discovers that this is a good deed with unforeseeable consequences.

What Bess finds at Vixen Hill is a house of mourning. The woman’s family has gathered for a memorial service for the elder son, who died of war wounds. Her husband, home on compassionate leave, is tense, tormented by jealousy and his own guilty conscience.

Then, when a troubled houseguest is found dead, Bess herself becomes a prime suspect in the case. This murder will lead her to a dangerous quest in war-torn France, an unexpected ally, and a startling revelation that puts her in jeopardy before a vicious killer can be exposed.

I think this was my favorite Bess Crawford mystery to date - I was definitely guessing until the end and was completely wrapped up in the lives of the Ellis family and with Bess' experiences.

1.) How did A Bitter Truth stack up for you against Bess' previous two adventures?

2.) I really enjoyed the mystery in this novel, and confess I was quite confounded as to who the killer was, until the very end. How about you?

3.) The plight of orphans in the war is brought to the forefront in this novel - what do you think of Lydia's and Bess' feelings and plans for Sophie?

4.) I was struck by the passage in chapter 15, when Todd speaks of the evolution of the war: "The days when men lined up in their dozens to be the first to enlist had long since passed. Now the reality of the trenches had scoured away that bravado, and in its place were these recruits, afraid of shaming themselves in front of their mates but probably wishing themselves anywhere but here." How did you see the war changing people and events in the novel?

5.) Simon Brandon plays an even greater role in this book than the last, though I don't think Bess sees his interest as more than professional or familial. What do you think his intentions are? And do you think Bess recognizes them?

The newest book in the Bess Crawford series, An Unmarked Grave, is on sale on June 5th and we'll be discussing that book here on the blog on June 25th. And we'll discuss the entire Bess Crawford series with writing team Charles Todd on the live online radio show Book Club Girl on Air on June 28th at 7pm ET.

Follow the Bess Crawford read-along on Twitter at the hashtag #besscrawford and be sure to friend Charles Todd on Facebook!

Book Time with Bess - The Bess Crawford Read-Along Discussion of An Impartial Witness!

Book Time with Bess, The Bess Crawford Read-Along continues with our discussion today of the second book in Charles Todd's series about WWI nurse Bess Crawford, An Impartial Witness!

An Impartial Witness

In the early summer of 1917, Bess Crawford is charged with escorting a convoy of severely wounded soldiers from the trenches of France to England. Among them is a young pilot, burned beyond recognition, who carries a photograph of his wife pinned to his tunic. But later, in a crowded railway station, Bess sees the same woman bidding a heart-wrenching farewell to a departing officer, clearly not her husband.

Back on duty in France, Bess is shocked to discover the wife’s photograph in a newspaper accompanying a plea from Scotland Yard for information about her murder, which took place on the very day Bess witnessed that anguished farewell. Granted leave to speak with the authorities, Bess very quickly finds herself entangled in a case of secrets and deadly betrayal in which another life hangs in the balance, and her search for the truth could expose her to far graver dangers than those she faces on the battlefield.

Questions for Discussion

 

1) As in A Duty to the Dead, long-seated familial animosities and jealousies play a role in the crimes committed. What did you think of the Garrison and Melton families? How do they compare to Bess' family, or to the families of soldiers and nurses created by war?

2) Simon Brandon plays a far greater role in this novel than he did in A Duty to the Dead. What do you make of that and do you think his intentions stem from his duty to Bess' father, or from his affections for Bess herself?

3) Simon strives to curtail the risks that Bess takes throughout the novel. This advice of his struck me particularly: "We have to move on. Put the living first. There are already enough monuments to the dead." Do you think Bess's drive to right the wrongs she sees puts her at odds with this advice, to her detriment?

4) Do you think there is any such thing as an "impartial witness?" Bess admits to adding her own perspective and interpretation to what she sees at the railway station. Later, Mrs. Hennessey is referred to by Bess as an "impartial witness," presumably because she's completely in the dark about what's been happening. But what do you think of the phrase, and what do you think the authors mean us to to think of it?

5) What did you think of the ending of the novel? Were you expecting a confrontation, or confession, that you didn't see? And if so, why do you think it was written that way?

6) Did you learn any new phrases while reading An Impartial Witness? For me it was "Well, it's shank's mare, then," which Sister Benning says to Bess when they have to walk behind the ambulance of wounded soldiers on their way to safer ground. Turns out that "shanks mare" is an Irish phrase referring to having to hoof it on your own two legs.

I'm looking forward to all of your answers - and please link to your own posts about An Impartial Witness in your comments!

Join us next on Tuesday, May 29th when we'll discuss the third book in the Bess Crawford series, A Bitter Truth - which also comes out in paperback tomorrow, May 1st.

Book Time with Bess - The Bess Crawford Read-Aong continues!

May 29^th – A Bitter Truth discussion
June 5^th - An Unmarked Grave – the new hardcover goes on sale
June 25^th – An Unmarked Grave discussion
June 28^th – Book Club Girl on Air Show with Charles Todd to Discuss the Entire Series

Follow the read-along on Twitter at the hashtag #besscrawford and be sure to friend Charles Todd on Facebook!

Book Time with Bess - The Bess Crawford Read Along Begins with A Duty to the Dead!

Our Book Time with Bess Bess Crawford Read Along begins! Today we'll discuss the first book in Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series, A Duty to the Dead. Answer the questions below in the comments section and link to your posts with your own thoughts about A Duty to the Dead there as well. For those who are also posting their thoughts to Twitter, please use the hashtag #besscrawford.

A Duty to the Dead
Dedicated to helping the many wounded during the Great War, Bess Crawford receives a desperate request from a dying lieutenant while serving as a nurse aboard a hospital ship. "Tell my brother Jonathan that I lied," the young man says. "I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right."

Back home in England, Bess receives an unexpected response from the dead soldier's family, for neither Jonathan Graham‚ his mother‚ nor his younger brother admit to understanding what the message means.

But the Grahams are harboring a grim secret, and Bess must, somehow, get to the bottom of it. It is her sacred duty to the dead, no matter how painful, or dangerous, that obligation might be.

Questions for Discussion:

1) Was this the first book that you read by Charles Todd, or, the first book set in this time period? I first encountered WWI-era-England with Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, and then, of course with the tv sensation Downton Abbey. If you have read more in this time period, what other books do you recommend?

2) What was your first impression of Bess Crawford? Were you surprised by the independence she enjoyed as a woman in this time, and that her parents afforded her so much freedom? Did your opinion of Bess change throughout the novel?

3) Bess has an interesting back story, growing up as she did in India. How did the authors use that part of her life to help define her character, and that of her parents and their relationship?

4) Did you know that large ocean liners, such as the Brittanic, which was a sister ship to both the Titanic and the Olympic, were called into service as hospital ships during the war? Brittanic was indeed sunk as well, just as the Todds write it in the book. Did you know that so many of the men who died on the hospital ships were buried at sea? Of course it makes sense, but I hadn't realized the number and that those men's families were left with no grave at home to visit, as Bess reflects, "In the sea there were no markers for the dead. No place in the deep to mourn, no place to leave flowers."

4) What did you think of Arthur's message? Do you think it was fair of him to ask Bess to deliver it? Why do you think she was so committed to not only delivering it, but to making sure it was followed by the Graham family?

5) What did you think of Mrs. Graham and her sons? I was struck by how much Bess was at their mercy and whim while staying in their house. Do you think they abused her kind nature in asking her to care for Peregrine?

6) Did you guess who the real killer was before he was revealed? I confess I went back and forth a few times, wondering.

7) What new word did you learn in A Duty to the Dead? For me it was "ratings," which refers to "a classification according to grade; specifically: a military or naval specialist classification, or more precisely: "chiefly British: a naval enlisted man." (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition).

I can't wait to hear what everyone else thought. I loved meeting Bess and learning more about this time and the mystery kept me turning pages rapidly until the wee hours of the night.

Join us next month as we discuss the next book in the series, An Impartial Witness, which we'll talk about on Monday, April 30th. And, the first 5 people to comment here with answers to the discussion will win a copy of An Impartial Witness!

The Book Time with Bess Read Along runs through the publication of the newest book in the series, An Unmarked Grave in June 2012. See the complete schedule for discussing the 4 books in the series below. Feel free to join at any time!

April 30^th - An Impartial Witness discussion
May 1st – A Bitter Truth paperback goes on sale
May 29^th – A Bitter Truth discussion (May 28^th is Memorial Day)
June 5^th - An Unmarked Grave – the new hardcover goes on sale
June 25^th – An Unmarked Grave discussion
June 28^th – Book Club Girl on Air Show with Charles Todd to Discuss the Entire Series

Look for updates along the way here, on Twitter (#besscrawford), and on the Book Club Girl and Charles Todd Facebook pages.

There's Still Plenty of Time to Book Time with Bess!

There's still plenty of time to join Book Time with Bess, our Bess Crawford Read Along! Our first discussion of Charles Todd's first Bess Crawford mystery, A Duty to the Dead, is next Monday, March 26th - and takes place all week, so you have at least a week to read it!

To whet your appetite in the meantime, here's part 1 of an interview between Caroline Todd (one half of the Charles Todd writing team, Charles being her son) and John Curran, author of Agatha Christie's Secret Notebook and Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making about the Queen of Mystery herself, Agatha Christie.

Caroline: You were a student of the mystery before Agatha Christie’s now-famous 73 handwritten notebooks were discovered.  How did you happen to meet Christie’s grandson, Matthew Pritchard, and what led to your work not only with the notebooks but with the restoration of Greenway House for the National Trust?  Were you a great fan from the start?

John: I was born an Agatha Christie fan! So when I met Mathew in Canada in 2004 at the premiere of Chimneys, an ‘unknown’ Christie play, he invited me to visit Greenway House. Once there I took up residence in the room at the top of the stairs where all of the papers pertaining to Christie’s literary life were housed. I read the Notebooks cover to cover on the first night there but it was not until early the following year that the idea of a book occurred to me.  Mathew immediately gave his blessing and I was off! It was while living in Greenway studying the Notebooks that I came to the attention of the National Trust who were preparing to clear the house for renovation. They asked me to undertake the task of cataloguing and boxing all of the papers before their removal from the house.

John: Most of your books are set in the post-First World War period when Agatha Christie—and the Golden Age of the detective story—was beginning. Is this coincidence?

Caroline:  Because of the popularity of the Golden Age, we felt that this era would be familiar to readers—and modern enough to have motorcars, telephones, and attitudes towards crime and life that were recognizable.  An historical mystery that wasn’t really historical. It is also a timeframe where forensics hadn’t become the tool that it is today.  The policeman or the detective had to rely on his or her own “little grey cells”—a knowledge of people and of evil—to find the solution to the mystery. For Christie, this period was contemporary.  For us it’s the challenge of understanding a period that isn’t our own.

Caroline: Murder in the Making is a must for all Christie fans.  But it’s also a marvelous look at the way her mind worked, and how she came up with such innovative ideas.  A writer’s guide for anyone interested in the mystery or in how mysteries are written. What did you yourself learn from writing Murder in the Making?

John: I learned how hard she worked! She had thousands of ideas but she selected and rejected, polished and honed, changed and adapted and kept working until the plot shone with ingenuity—and simplicity. She was the ultimate example of the art that conceals art; she made it look simple. And she made it look simple for over 50 years.

John: Have you ever thought that the relationship between Rutledge and Hamish is not unlike that between Mr. Satterthwaite and Mr. Quin in the Christie short stories, although Rutledge/Hamish is much darker? Quin is not of this world and he ‘haunts’ Satterthwaite during his investigations into mysterious deaths.

Caroline:  That’s a very interesting comparison.  Quin, of course, is the man who knows the answers and who points Satterthwaite in the right direction with his questions and suggestions. He is also visible to others when he comes to call.   Hamish, on the other hand, can only know what Rutledge knows.  But sometimes when he draws attention to something that is in Rutledge’s subconscious, it brings it to the surface and to his attention. Christie called Quin an advocate for the dead, and Rutledge became a policeman rather than a solicitor because he felt that the police were the advocates for the murder victim.  In the Quin stories, Christie often combined a ghost story with a current murder—which I enjoyed.  But Hamish isn’t a ghost, he’s the guilt that Rutledge carries over his death. Rutledge knows Hamish is dead—but knowing and accepting are two different things.  As long as Rutledge hears that voice in his head, much as he hates it, he can tell himself that Hamish came home from the war. 

Caroline: Christie’s An Autobiography has been called remarkable for what it reveals about her—and what it conceals.  Did you find it helpful in working on the notebooks? Were there notes that she left from writing it?

John: No, the Autobiography was no help because from the start I set out to write books about the Christie output, and not her life. She was adept at concealing herself (and is, in my opinion, perfectly entitled to do so) and mentions her books hardly at all in the Autobiography. I was trying to understand how she did what she did.

John: Is Bess Crawford your Miss Marple?!

Caroline:  Ah!  I’ve always thought Miss Marple must have had an interesting youth, although I think Christie enjoyed the concept of the simple village spinster who surprised everyone with her infinite understanding of evil.  Yes, the village is a microcosm of life in general, that’s the point. But it’s also intriguing to wonder if there was more in her past, perhaps during the Great War. There’s nothing in Christie’s background that suggests where she got her own understanding of evil.  And I think that’s something we share, this interest in what makes ordinary people turn to murder as a solution to their problems.  Which neatly avoids your question. The answer, I think, is that a woman must have certain qualities to be believable as a sleuth, and one is the ability to observe. Another is an ability to see through sham and to be objective. These I think Bess has learned from Miss Marple.     

Caroline: If you could ask Agatha Christie one question—about anything, her work itself or how she worked, or something that intrigued you in your study of her notebooks—what would it be? 

John: Some of my years-old questions were answered by my study of the Notebooks but what I still can’t understand would form the basis of my question:  ‘How did you do what you did so well, so often, and for so long?’ And I don’t think even Agatha Christie herself could answer it!

Click here for more information about the Book Time with Bess Bess Crawford Read Along and to sign up. Browse inside A Duty to the Dead and I hope we hear from you next week during our first discussion of that book here!

Book Time with Bess! Join the Bess Crawford Read Along!

If you, like me, are feeling a Downton Abbey let-down after the airing of the last episode in the second season, I might just have the cure that ails you (it might even cure the Spanish flu).

Further immerse yourself in WWI-era England with the Bess Crawford mysteries by Charles Todd by joining our “Book Time with Bess” Read Along!

The “Book Time with Bess Read Along” kicks off now and runs through the publication of the newest book in the series, An Unmarked Grave in June 2012.

About Bess Crawford, and A Duty to the Dead, the first book in the series:
So who is Bess Crawford? The creation of the mother and son writing team of Charles Todd – the team that brought us the acclaimed and bestselling Ian Rutledge series – Bess Crawford is a singular woman living in a time of great change in England. Independent-minded Bess Crawford’s upbringing was far different from that of the usual upper-middle-class British gentlewoman. Growing up in India, she learned the importance of responsibility, honor, and duty from her officer father. At the outbreak of World War I, she followed in his footsteps and volunteered for the nursing corps, serving from the battlefields of France to the doomed hospital ship Britannic.

On one voyage, Bess grows fond of the young, gravely wounded Lieutenant Arthur Graham. Something rests heavily on his conscience, and to give him a little peace as he dies, she promises to deliver a message to his brother. It is some months before she can carry out this duty, and when she’s next in England, she herself is recovering from a wound. When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother’s last wishes with surprising indifference. Neither his mother nor his brother Timothy seems to think it has any significance. Unsettled by this, Bess is about to take her leave when sudden tragedy envelops her. She quickly discovers that fulfilling this duty to the dead has thrust her into a maelstrom of intrigue and murder that will endanger her own life and test her courage as not even war has.

As an added bonus to get you started, the e-book of A Duty to the Dead is just $1.99 for a limited time, so order up today and get reading!

The read-along officially kicks off today (but don’t worry, our first discussion won’t take place until March 26th) and it runs through the publication of the paperback of the most recent Bess Crawford novel, A Bitter Truth (on sale 5/1), as well as the new Bess Crawford hardcover, An Unmarked Grave (on sale 6/5). We'll end the read-along in June with a Book Club Girl on Air Show with the Charles Todd writing team to discuss all the books in the series.

Here's the schedule of when I'll post questions about each book for us to discuss:

March 26th - A Duty to the Dead discussion
April 30^th - An Impartial Witness discussion
May 1st – A Bitter Truth paperback goes on sale
May 29^th – A Bitter Truth discussion (May 28^th is Memorial Day)
June 5^th - An Unmarked Grave – the new hardcover goes on sale
June 25^th – An Unmarked Grave discussion
June 28^th – Book Club Girl on Air Show with Charles Todd to Discuss the Entire Series

Look for updates along the way here, on Twitter (#besscrawford), and on the Book Club Girl and Charles Todd Facebook pages.

The first 10 people to sign up will receive a free copy of the paperback of A Duty to the Dead (if you're taking advantage of the $1.99 ebook instead, let me know that and we can send you An Impartial Witness).

Write a post saying you're signing up and link back here, grab the tile ad above and then link to your post using the Mr. Linky below. (If you don't have a blog, announce it on your Facebook and link to your status update). Then tweet about your reading using the hashtag #besscrawford.
(email me if you are having trouble with the tile ad at bookclubgirl AT gmail DOT com).

Happy Reading!

Charles Todd Has Downton Abbey Fever Too!

If you've read any of the articles that have come out recently about books that Downton Abbey fans should check out, you've no doubt heard about Charles Todd, and the writing team's Inspector Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford series which are also set during WWI and its aftermath. Today the Todds celebrate the joy of Downton that has swept the UK and now the US. Read on Downton fans!

We’ve been enjoying Downton Abbey along with the rest of the universe. A great reason to support one’s local PBS station, to ensure another season.  

For someone who writes about WW1, it’s great to see the war scenes come to life in the story. We see them in our heads while writing the Rutledge books or the Bess series, and they look just the same, although it isn’t Rutledge coming toward us through the smoke and the rattle of gun fire and the shells landing at the edge of the trenches, it’s the heir to Downton Abbey.  And a handsome officer he made.  He even had the proper stride for an officer.  He would have reminded us more of Rutledge if he were dark, but he’s fair with blue eyes.  Little wonder that Lady Mary is in love with him.   The use of the small local hospital for returning wounded was very well done, and we can picture Bess there or tending to the patients at the Abbey (that reminded us of Longleigh House in the next Bess) as they convalesce, although her work takes her to France much of the time.   She’s a nursing Sister, she’s done the full course, where Lady Sybil has done the shorter one. But more power to Lady Sybil. Whether serving in France or caring for the wounded at home, it’s a heart-wrenching task.  And Bess has often been in charge of convoys of wounded coming home, trying to keep them alive to get there.  A fact—the British Army used to send doctors into combat before they realized that they were more useful caring for the wounded. No one expected the horrendous number of casualties that trench warfare would produce.  And then there’s the home front, epitomized by the Earl and Countess, seeing the world they knew and loved falling apart before them. Even their home invaded by dozens of strangers. But Carson the butler put it best, as did one of our own characters a few books ago—war is no excuse to let one’s standards slip.  We’ve grown really fond of the Earl—he is played very well.

Well, now the war is over, although the tragedy of war isn’t.  There’s Matthew in his wheelchair, alive but no longer whole.  And Patrick with his terrible scars in a period when there was little in the way of plastic surgery to make them at least presentable.  Rutledge was at the bloody battle of the Somme and spent months in hospital until his sister rescued him and took him to a clinic that specialized in shell shock. There was no cure, but Dr. Fleming helped him return to Scotland Yard and the demands of working there again, saving what was left of his sanity.  While Bates was away, the Earl’s valet suffered from shell shock, had had to be sent away.  You couldn’t help but feel for him.

What will happen now to the footman Thomas, who enjoyed his moment of power, running the convalescent home for the Army?  He had shot himself in the hand in France, to get out of the  trenches and come home again.  Bess herself has to deal with a deserter in An Unmarked Grave, (June 2012)  But most men stayed the course.  It was so sad to lose William, but the new powerful gunpowder developed by Mr. Nobel crushed ear drums and lungs and bodies even when the wounded man appeared to be whole.  The scene where Daisy married him was very touching.  But she seems distressed about it.  Is she still infatuated with Thomas?

Will Lady Sibyl go against her class and marry the chauffeur?  Can he make her happy, or will his politics make their lives wretched?  It will be a big step.  We can’t help but wonder—why did Lady Edith believe the man who claimed to be Patrick? Was she really sure? Or did she have other reasons for wanting to him to be the lost heir.   We aren’t sure what will become of the maid and her illegitimate child—tragically such things happened.  You can’t help but wonder what will become of her. But the new maid who is a widow is casting eyes at the Earl.  Hmmmm.   And the nasty Mrs. Bates is dead.  Murder? Or Suicide when her plot failed?   Sir Richard has certainly shown himself to be a nasty piece of work.  And he brought Lavinia back to complicate Matthew’s renewed friendship with Mary.   We aren’t quite sure what to think about this new crop of characters and story lines.  Will they be as riveting as the ones in the first four episodes?  Only time will tell. 

At least the Dowager is still is great form.  She’s a marvelous character, and Maggie Smith plays her to the hilt.   One thing that is interesting to us as students of the war years and the early days of peace is that so far the horrific influenza epidemic hasn’t touched Downton Abbey.  We’ve just dealt with it ourselves in An Unmarked Grave, and we were waiting to see which of the household fell victim to it.  Will they be lucky enough not to have to deal with it at all? 

All the same, it’s hurray for Downton Abbey.  It keeps you pinned to your TV every Sunday evening (in our neck of the woods) and it gives us much to speculate about during the week while waiting for the next episode.  Is something going to happen to Cora?  And who will step into her shoes?  Will Carson really leave the Abbey? Will Mary risk exposure to rid herself of Sir Richard?  And will Bates be blamed for his wife’s death and go to prison—or the gallows?  For the Todds, it has been a great deal of fun, and it has whetted our appetite to see Rutledge or Bess developed for Masterpiece Theatre one day.   As one of our fans said to us when we were in Dallas recently, why not?  

The newest Ian Rutledge mystery by Charles Todd is The Confession. The fourth book in the Bess Crawford series, An Unmarked Grave, comes out in June. The first book in each series is Test of Wills (Rutledge) and A Duty to the Dead (Bess Crawford). You can friend Charles Todd on Facebook and watch this space to sign up for our Bess Crawford read along which will kick off on Monday, February 20th!

War Horse - A Book, A Play and Now a Film - Guest Post from Charles Todd - Plus a Giveaway of The Confession and the War Horse Film Tie-In Book!

I'm so pleased to have this guest post from Charles Todd, author of two mystery series set in and after World War I in England - the Inspector Ian Rutledge series - the newest of which, The Confession, is just out in bookstores as well as the Bess Crawford series. It seems especially timely to post it tonight, having just finished watching the first episode of season 2 of Downton Abbey, with WWI very fresh in my mind. Here, the mother-daughter writing team of Charles Todd reflect on another fictionalization of that war: War Horse and why this time period is so rich for storytelling.

If you’ve seen the previews of War Horse, the movie, or been fortunate enough to see the splendid stage version in New York or London, or read the book from which both were taken, you have glimpsed the world that Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge knew intimately.  A Pale Horse, one of the Rutledge series, touched briefly on the plight of horses during the war, but we’ve never really gone into the issue of taking horses from English families to pull the caissons and wagons, and to be ridden in cavalry charges, and be gassed with the soldiers at the Front.   For one thing, it was covered so well in the book by Michael Morpurgo that we felt it would be redundant to tell the story again.  And for another, we were focused on people, on Rutledge—a survivor of four years in the trenches, scarred by what he had to do and had to witness, trying to resume a career interrupted by the fighting even as he struggles with his memories—and Bess, who tends the wounded men brought to aid stations and hospitals and sometimes convoying them to England for further care, is never far from death either in France or in London.  It’s an interesting period in history, and there are so many stories yet to be told about it.  It has been a fascinating time in which to set murder mysteries, exciting and remarkable in its own way.  The courage Bess shows dealing with horribly wounded men carries over into finding a murderer.  She doesn’t look for cases to solve—they come to her as she goes about her duties.  And Rutledge, at Scotland Yard, must face his own demons while bringing all his intuition and skill to bear on bringing in a killer.  Compassionate, vulnerable, intelligent and intriguing, he’s been a wonderful character to work with.  If you haven’t come across him before, you’re sure to enjoy his latest—The Confession—and if you’re already a fan, you’ll find this Rutledge one of the best yet.  Hardcover or e-book, Rutledge fills the page with suspense.

I think what we’ve learned writing these two series is that “our war”, 1914-1918, isn’t all that much different from what soldiers are facing today.  Yes, the enemy is wears a different uniform and the weapons of war have made enormous progress from the rifles and the canvas covered planes of WWI, but the fear and the courage and the grief is unchanged.  The wounded are still struggling to recover, those in combat too long are still experiencing PTSD, and those waiting at home are still waiting for dreadful news.  People still suffer.  And yet as a time to set murder mysteries, it has all the drama and excitement and color one could wish as an author—or as a reader.

Read an excerpt from the latest Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery, The Confession. I have a copy of The Confession as well as the pictorial tie-in book to War Horse, the film, to give away. I'll pick one random commenter from all those received by midnight Wednesday, January 11th to receive both books. And keep an eye out for our upcoming readalong of Charles Todd's Bess Crawford mysteries, that starts with the first book in that series, A Duty to the Dead, this March!